A grammar school has been accused of handing out ‘homophobic’ work after a maths question sparked fury amongst parents and students.
The shocking question, handed out by a school volunteer to a group of students at the all-boys Royal Grammar School, in High Wycombe, suggests only men and woman should get married “as God intended”.
The questions reads: “If in a town 70 per cent of the men are married to 90 per cent of the women (and each marriage is between one man and woman, as God intended when he made humans male and female) what percentage of the adult population are married?”
The optional math test “posers” could have been picked up by all the school’s 1,300 students, including children as young as 11.
One parent, who did not want to be named, slammed the homework as being “homophobic” and having an “anti-LGBT bias”.
Speaking to the Bucks Free Press this morning, headmaster Philip Wayne said: “I’m sorry on behalf of the whole school community of governors, staff and boys for any offence this has caused.”
He revealed that the question was set as part of an additional test to higher-level maths students by a former full-time teacher who retired “a long time ago”.
He continued to volunteer at the school and recently handed out the test before the question was spotted by some students.
Mr Wayne said: “First few boys to pick up the test, noticed the question concerned and referred it to staff.
“As soon as it was picked up it was quickly withdrawn from the department.
“He [the school volunteer] will not be returning to RGS. Staff are expected to abide by the teachers standards if they’re on the payroll or not.”
He added: “Social media has done its work very quickly as you can imagine, and when it was brought to my attention and I dealt with it.”
The school, which was founded in the 16th century, regularly features as one of the top boys’ grammar school across the country.
Last month they celebrated another strong set of GCSE and A-Level results, with teachers being praised for their hard work in helping students achieve top marks.
LGBT rights charity Stonewall has highlighted the importance of tackling discrimination within school, while praising RGS for dealing with concerns quickly.
Senior communications officer at Stonewall, Matt Horwood, said: “It’s encouraging to see that this incident was dealt with as soon as it was raised, but demonstrates how important it is for staff to be equipped to prevent and tackle LGBT discrimination in all of its forms.
“All children should be able to experience school as an inclusive learning space, and should absolutely never feel ostracised or mistreated by either the language or materials used by teaching staff or volunteers.”
What do you think about the question? Comment below or email andrew.colley@london.newsquest.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel