Kevin Lister v New College Swindon
Maths teacher alleges he was fired for not affirming a student's preferred pronouns
Kevin Lister, a maths teacher of 20 years, is taking New College Swindon to an employment tribunal alleging he was fired for not affirming a student's preferred pronouns.
In 2021, a 17-year-old female student told Mr. Lister she wanted to be referred to as male using he/him pronouns. Mr. Lister then raised a safeguarding concern stating that he wasn't able to affirm the pupil unless he had parental consent. He contacted the safeguarding team 10 days later and was told they did not intend to speak to the parents.
Back in the classroom Mr. Lister found himself in a difficult position and tried to avoid using names and pronouns altogether when referring to the student.
When a female maths competition was announced the student asked if she could enter, which Mr. Lister confirmed and entered her name on the list. The college then accused him of 'transphobia' for entering her 'deadname', a term used to refer to the name given at birth.
Mr. Lister also raised concerns in a training session as to what he describes as a 'trans-activist' teacher who he alleges was encouraging students to transition.
Mr. Lister alleges he was dismissed for not affirming the student and raising these concerns. He is claiming unfair dismissal, direct discrimination & indirect discrimination.
Status
Mr. Lister’s case against New College Swindon has been listed at Bristol Crown Court for the 18th to the 27th March 2024. Mr. Lister is litigating in person.
UPDATE 27th March 2024 - Judge Livesy dismissed Mr. Lister's claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. Read the judgment here
Live Tweeting sessions
19th March morning session Part 1 & Part 2
19th March afternoon session Part 1 & Part 2
20th March morning session Part 1 & Part 2
20th March afternoon session Part 1 & Part 2
21st March morning session Part 1 & Part 2
21st March afternoon session Part 1 & Part 2
22nd March morning session - No sitting
22nd March afternoon session Part 1 & Part 2
Abbreviations
EJ - Judge Livesy
P1 - Panel Member D England
P2 - Panel Member G Mayo
Claimant
KL or C - Kevin Lister, claimant (Representing himself)
Respondent
NCS or R - New College Swindon, respondent
JS - Joanne Shepherd, barrister for NCS
JO - Joanne Oliver, solicitor for NCS
Witnesses
CK - Carole Kitching – College Principal (now retired)
AS - Amanda Spanswick (Assistant Principal and line manager)
CB - Charlotte Best (Initial investigation manager and Deputy designated safeguarding lead)
JD - Jane Davison (Assistant Principal, and second investigation manager)
LP - Lynn Plested (Vice Principal)
PF - Peta Fry (HR manager)
DSL - designated safeguarding lead
Certain witnesses and pupils will not be identified by name. Initials as below will be used.
A - principal female student who wished to present as a male.
B - student instigator of complaint.
C - member of staff providing transgender training course.
Press Coverage
Here are links to a selection of relevant press coverage about this case. These links are included without comment and are not endorsed by Tribunal Tweets. This is a sample of coverage only, with most recent first - it is not comprehensive. Please DM our main Twitter account to submit coverage from an established news outlet. Any paywalled article must be archived.
27 March 2024
BBC - Gender-critical Swindon teacher loses employment tribunal case
GB News - Teacher loses claim of unfair dismissal after 'humiliating' student over preferred pronouns
22 March 2024
BBC - Teacher 'consistently' humiliated pupil in class over pronouns, tribunal told
21 March 2024
BBC - Teacher 'consistently' humiliated pupil in class over pronouns, tribunal told
Independent - Teacher sacked for ‘humiliating’ student over preferred pronouns, tribunal told
20th March 2024
Sky news - Transgender ideology is a cult', sacked teacher tells employment tribunal
Telegraph - Transgender ideology is a cult, gender-critical teacher tells tribunal
BBC - Teacher bullied transgender pupil, tribunal told
Bristol Live - Bullying teacher believed transgender pupil was immersed in a cult
19 March 2024
Independent - Maths teacher sacked for refusing to use student’s preferred pronouns, tribunal told
BBC - Wiltshire teacher fired for not using preferred pronouns, tribunal told
Daily Mail - Gender-critical teacher, 60, tells tribunal he was sacked after refusing to use trans student's preferred pronouns
The Times - Teacher sues over sacking in pronoun row
Sky News - Teacher sacked for refusing to use transgender student's chosen pronoun
18 March 2024
The Sun - Cabinet ministers face court action over allegations of woke indoctrination in British schools
23 Dec 2023
The Telegraph - Teacher is banned for ‘misgendering’ pupil
21 Dec 2023
2 July 2023
[VIDEO] The Laurence Fox Show - Maths teacher sacked for raising safeguarding concerns
7 Feb 2023
31 Jan 2023
Daily Mail - I was sacked for being a 'transphobe'
29 Jan 2023
[VIDEO] GB News: Free Speech Nation - Teacher fired for questioning student's pronouns
13 Oct 2022
[VIDEO] Lotuseaters - Fired for not affirming: Interview with Kevin Lister
28 Sep 2022
INTERNATIONAL NEWS - UK teacher FIRED after refusing to socially transition child without parental consent
27 Sept 2022
Swindon Advertiser - GB News: Sacked Swindon teacher speaks out on national TV
Binary - School teacher claims unfair dismissal for upholding biological truth
26 Sept 2022
Wiltshire Gazette & Herald - Sacked teacher accused of transphobic behaviour towards student
25 Sept 2022
[VIDEO] GB News: Free Speech Nation - Kevin Lister discusses loses his job for not using he/him pronouns
24 Sept 2022
Daily Mail - Swindon teacher sacked after refusing to use pupil's preferred pronouns without parental permission