The Cherwell School teacher said he was officially suspended yesterday for an indefinite period, after the academy said his ‘misgendering’ flouted its equality policy.

Oxford resident Mr Sutcliffe said he was ‘shocked and saddened’ by the secondary school’s actions, insisting his mistake was a mere slip of the tongue for which he had immediately apologised.

But the pupil’s parent lodged a complaint suggesting the slip-up, which happened this term, was discriminatory.

Chris Price, headteacher of the Summertown school, said: “This school takes issues of equality and discrimination seriously, whether they be issues to do with religious belief or gender identity.

“It has a range of governor-approved policies to ensure the school acts appropriately and lawfully.”

He said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment further on confidential disciplinary matters.

And Mr Price, who did not want the name of his school to be identified, said he did not want to risk the education of one of his pupils through the issue.

Devout Christian Mr Sutcliffe, 27, joined the school in 2015 and is also a pastor at Christ Revelation Church in Oxford’s New Road.

He admitted he disagreed with the idea that gender can be fluid, but labelled his suspension ‘political correctness gone mad’.

The teacher fears he sacrificed his career by speaking out, but wanted to spark a wider debate about faith and equality in schools.

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