‘I raised my daughter to stand up for what she believes in’: Mother of Year 8 pupil scolded by a teacher for questioning classmate’s claim she identities as a cat says she is proud of her daughter amid ‘ridiculous’ gender row

The parents of a 13-year-old girl who was branded ‘despicable’ by her teacher after she rejected a classmate’s claim that she identified as a cat have tonight told of their fury.

The angry couple say their daughter was ‘bullied’ by her teacher for speaking out and have blasted a decision to report her as ‘ridiculous’.

Two teenage Year 8 pupils at Rye College in East Sussex were ordered to stay behind in class after clashing with their classmate who identifies as a cat.

One of the girls secretly recorded their conversation with the teacher, who can be heard reprimanding them both for their views that gender is binary, calling it ‘really despicable’ and ‘very sad’.

The girls are also told ‘if you don’t like it you should go to a different school.’

‘Woke’ teacher scolds pupil for ‘questioning classmate’s identity’

Tonight, the mum of one of the girls, who has asked to be kept anonymous, told MailOnline: ‘I’m so proud of my daughter, she will always stand up for what she believes is right and this is all that she did.

‘She expressed a view that many, many of her classmates and their parents would share yet she was shouted down and bullied by someone in authority.’

She continued: ‘For that teacher to tell her to leave and go to another school if she didn’t like what she was being told made my blood boil. What kind of welcome is that for a 13-year-old girl.

‘My daughter texted me from her class last Friday and said that she was being taught gender identity and asked to fill out a worksheet. We’ve spoken about the issue before and she’s like me you can be whatever you want to be – but facts are facts.

‘I replied that she could walk out of the lesson if she didn’t feel what she was being taught was right.

‘She didn’t, however, and stayed in the classroom but her and her friend put their views across and clashed with another girl in the class who identifies as a cat

‘My daughter told the teacher that what they were learning was ridiculous and the girl identifying as a cat tried to argue that it wasn’t and that anyone could identify as anything.