Elite UK Schools Abandon Pro-LGBT Rules from Middle-Eastern Branches

DOHA, QATAR - OCTOBER 24: Men and women wearing traditional Qatari clothing visit the wate
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Peter Caddle

Elite schools in the UK have been found to drop various pro-LGBT guidelines present in their British operations from their franchises active in the Middle East.

Elite schools in the UK, including a number of so-called “Eton Group” schools, such as King’s College and Sherborne, have been found to not include pro-LGBT guidelines implemented in their UK locations in sister operations active in the Middle East.

The mysterious absence of explicit measures designed to prevent homophobic bullying — which are a legal requirement in the United Kingdom — from Middle Eastern operations has raised eyebrows.

According to a report by The Times, schools wishing to operate in a variety of Middle Eastern countries are required to abide by Islamic government guidelines regarding ownership, curriculum content, and patriotism.

Some schools whose operations in such countries do not make explicit reference to LGBT elements in their bullying charters noted this to explain their absence.

A spokeswoman for Royal Grammar School Guildford said that the organisation’s franchise in Qatar “must comply with the laws of the country in which we are operating”, but that the school would “always challenge bullying, whatever the root”.

Sherborne’s headmaster meanwhile stood behind its sister school in Doha, despite it not having an explicit LGBT policy similar to the one in use in the college’s Dorset location.

“Our experience of working with Sherborne Qatar over the past ten years makes it clear to us that the school does not tolerate bullying or discrimination,” the headmaster said.

British educational institutions are frequently vocal about LGBT issues, with a number of teachers unions pushing for radical proposals regarding educational values.

Teachers in the country have reportedly bemoaned “lack of policies which promote LGBT+ within schools”, with the National Union of Teachers saying that such lifestyles should be “promoted” to children as young as two to reduce hate crime.

Meanwhile, an LGBT charity in the country, Stonewall — which has received financial support from the UK’s Conservative party government — has suggested that the term “learner” should be used instead of boy or girl as part of stripping all “gendered” language from the classroom.

Corporations have also been big purveyors of LGBT narratives, with a multitude changing their logos online during pride month to include various iterations of the pride flag.

However, many companies that changed their logos on their social media accounts aimed at Western audiences, failed to do so for their Middle-Eastern operations.

German car manufacturer Mercedes, games publisher Bethesda, and Swiss food giant Nestlé all kept their standard logos for their Middle Eastern accounts last June, despite integrating pride colours on accounts aimed at Western audiences.

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