The UK’s first school exclusively for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students plans to teach 40 pupils are struggling with homophobic bullying.
Funding and a site has been secured for the school in Manchester that could see students walking through the doors within the next three years.
The LGBT school will be aimed at students who struggle to fit in.. Part-time places will also be available for up to 20 young people who will continue to attend mainstream school.
Amelia Lee, strategic director for LGBT Youth North West, the youth work charity behind the plans said “In Manchester in December we had a girl called Lizzie [Elizabeth Lowe] who committed suicide in a park because she was struggling with coming out and was worried about telling her parents…
“This is about saving lives. Despite the laws that claim to protect gay people from homophobic bullying, the truth is that in schools especially, bullying is still incredibly common and causes young people to feel isolated and alienated, which often leads to truanting and, in the worst-case scenarios, to suicide.”
