A teacher may lose his licence to teach for, among other things, ‘misgendering’ a pupil.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has charged Joshua Sutcliffe, 32, of professional misconduct.

In 2017, he was suspended and placed in isolation for telling students “well done girls” while one of them wanted to be identified as a boy.

When the pupil became irate Sutcliffe sought to diffuse the situation and made an apology.

While the maths teacher does not believe it possible to change one’s biological sex, he said he tried to balance his beliefs with the need to treat the pupil sensitively.

He claimed he did this by avoiding the use of gender-specific pronouns and by referring to the pupil by name.

“While the suggestion that gender is fluid conflicts sharply with my Christian beliefs… I have never looked to impose my convictions on others”, he said.

Maya Forstater, who last year won a legal claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs, gave evidence in support of Sutcliffe.

She argued schools should avoid implementing trans-affirming policies for students who identify as the opposite sex.

She also argued compelling students and teachers to use preferred pronouns for transgender pupils was asking them to “take part in a belief system” they might not agree with.