Harleston Sancroft Academy to add gender-neutral toilets

Harleston Sancroft Academy, which was formed in September from the merger of two schools, is one of the county's only all-through schools.

Now, it is on the lookout for contractors to convert some of its toilets to allow them to be used by both boys and girls. 

Harleston Sancroft Academy. Picture: Jungle PR (Image: Jungle PR)

The changes will not be made across the whole school, however, with only toilets in the secondary part of the site due to be affected.

The academy was officially formed last year after Harleston Primary Academy and Archbishop Sancroft High School merged under the same leadership.

It makes it one of the few sites in Norfolk where pupils will stay for their entire school career.

The introduction of gender-neutral toilets in schools has previously provoked controversy.

Schools claim the facilities make their sites more inclusive, help reduce queuing and make it easier for teachers to monitor behaviour and bullying.

But critics claim the schemes often effectively reduce the number of female-only toilets.

They have also raised safeguarding and privacy concerns, particularly for girls going through menstruation.

Prior to the merger between the two sites, Archbishop Sancroft High already provided some gender-neutral loos and became a school champion of LGBT charity Stonewall.

The organisation has been criticised in some quarters for its promotion of gender identity ideology in schools.

Archbishop Sancroft High's scheme comes after another Norfolk school, Sprowston Community Academy, faced a petition from parents calling for more single-sex blocks.

It was claimed the school had made "almost all" of its loos gender-neutral, with the petition signed more than 1,300 times.

It is not clear what proportion of the toilet facilities at Harleston Sancroft Academy are planned to be gender-neutral once the works have been carried out.

The school has been approached for comment.