Monmouthshire: Pupils choose gender-neutral toilets at new school

A new super school will have gender-neutral toilets following a consultation with pupils.

All pupils at King Henry VIII school in Abergavenny - which caters for children aged three to 19 - will still also have access to single-sex toilets.

But those aged 12 and above will also have access to non-gendered facilities, Monmouthshire councillor Martyn Groucutt confirmed.

Deri View Primary and King Henry Comprehensive pupils were consulted.

Mr Groucutt, council member for education, said "the non-binary voice was heard" when students at the two existing school were asked what toilets they wanted in their new super school.

Giving older pupils the option of a gender-neutral toilet would serve "those who see themselves as neither [a boy nor a girl]," the Labour councillor for Abergavenny added, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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He said all toilets will have "floor to ceiling" doors and there would be no urinals for boys in any of the school toilets.

Mr Groucutt said the designated girls toilets and the "non-gender specific toilets" would both have bins for sanitary products.

It means if governors or senior teachers wanted they could change the designation of any toilet "week on week".

Pupils at King Henry VIII, a comprehensive in Abergavenny, say they want a gender-neutral toilet option in their new school

Louise Brown, Conservative councillor for Shirenewton, said she was "tempted to say" she would have preferred the "simple answer of single-sex toilets for all schools".

But she said it was important schools have both single-sex toilets and "unisex disabled toilets".