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A school has been forced to allow a transgender pupil to sit a GCSE exam dressed as a girl, because of equality laws, it was reported.
The school backed down after telling Ashlyn Parram, 16 - who was born a boy but is undergoing gender reassignment treatment - that he could not sit the paper because he was not wearing boys' uniform.
Ashlyn, who was wearing a skirt, said he showed headmaster Chris Walls a copy of the Equality Act 2010, which gave him the right to be treated the same as other pupils.
But the teenager - who was wearing hair extensions and make-up as well as a girl's uniform - said that when he went back into the hall to sit the maths exam he was made to sit at the back of the room 40ft from other pupils.
Ashlyn, who used to be called Lewis, told a newspaper: "The whole way through the exam I felt like bursting into tears, and it was around 15 minutes before I even started the exam because I was so upset."
He claims he was made to feel "like a freak" at Giles Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire. Ashlyn has now left the school and is hoping to to go to college to study maths.
"It's sad that people can't be more open-minded," he told the Daily Mail.
Ashlyn's mother, IT worker Miranda Johnson, 42, made a complaint which was investigated by the chairman of the school governors and dismissed in a letter in whicgh he said all the allegations had been rejected.
She said: "We don't want a penny of compensation. It's not about the money - it's about protecting other children and educating people.
"To be made to sit on your own during an exam is horrendous. If Ashlyn had been black or disabled there would have been uproar."
Ashlyn declared he was gay aged 11 but later realised he was a girl trapped in a boy's body, and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
He is on a waiting list for hormone treatment and from the age of 18 will be eligible for full sex-change surgery.
The Equality Act protects transsexuals from discrimination and harrassment including "by a teacher at school".
A school spokesman said: "Every time we get a complaint we will deal with it in a professional way."
Ashlyn, who was wearing a skirt, said he showed headmaster Chris Walls a copy of the Equality Act 2010, which gave him the right to be treated the same as other pupils.
But the teenager - who was wearing hair extensions and make-up as well as a girl's uniform - said that when he went back into the hall to sit the maths exam he was made to sit at the back of the room 40ft from other pupils.
Ashlyn, who used to be called Lewis, told a newspaper: "The whole way through the exam I felt like bursting into tears, and it was around 15 minutes before I even started the exam because I was so upset."
He claims he was made to feel "like a freak" at Giles Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire. Ashlyn has now left the school and is hoping to to go to college to study maths.
"It's sad that people can't be more open-minded," he told the Daily Mail.
Ashlyn's mother, IT worker Miranda Johnson, 42, made a complaint which was investigated by the chairman of the school governors and dismissed in a letter in whicgh he said all the allegations had been rejected.
She said: "We don't want a penny of compensation. It's not about the money - it's about protecting other children and educating people.
"To be made to sit on your own during an exam is horrendous. If Ashlyn had been black or disabled there would have been uproar."
Ashlyn declared he was gay aged 11 but later realised he was a girl trapped in a boy's body, and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
He is on a waiting list for hormone treatment and from the age of 18 will be eligible for full sex-change surgery.
The Equality Act protects transsexuals from discrimination and harrassment including "by a teacher at school".
A school spokesman said: "Every time we get a complaint we will deal with it in a professional way."
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