The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for schools to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil in relation to admissions, in the way they provide education or access to any benefit, facility or service because of their:
- Sex
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
These seven identifiers are called “protected characteristics”. There are nine in total, with “age” and “marriage and civil partnership” completing the list.
But I don’t think the law goes far enough. I think there should be a 10th protected characteristic: social class. It should be unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of their social class. This is especially important in schools – after all, class plays an important role in education and in later life.
