‘UK’s strictest headteacher’ wrongly claims trans kids more likely to be ‘white and privileged’

Britain’s so-called ‘strictest headteacher’ has claimed that transgender children are more likely to be “white and privileged”. But her belief flies in the face of a number of studies.

Katharine Birbalsingh, the head of Michaela Community School in north west London, told The Standard that people were searching for a “victimhood narrative to embrace,” which, in her view, made trans youngsters more likely to come from a “white and privileged” background.

“We haven’t had any trans children in the school but it’s unlikely [to happen] as we have a very heavy ethnic-minority intake from the inner city, and that plays a huge part. Half of them are Muslim,” said Birbalsingh, who shot to prominence after speaking at the Conservative Party conference in 2010 – where she criticised the UK’s education system.

“I think they’d be less inclined. If one actually did a survey on this sort of thing nationally, I think you would find that white, privileged kids would be more likely to [transitioning].

‘Victimhood is admired’

Birbalsingh, who has previously tweeted about the internet hoax of “furries” in schools (people who enjoy dressing up as animals with human traits), added: “No question, our society is such that victimhood is admired. If you feel you’re white and privileged, then you don’t have much of a victimhood narrative to embrace. So, you need to find something to embrace, to be respected by your peers.”

However, a study published in 2023 revealed that trans people are more likely to live in more-deprived areas and have worse mental health than the wider population.

The study, conducted by researchers from University College London, and published in the British Medical Journal, analysed the medical records of more than seven million people, to identify trends among the transgender community.

Levels of deprivation in different areas was measured by comparing rates of employment, home and car ownership, and income and education. The research concluded that people living in cities such as Nottingham and Bradford – classified as some of the most deprived in the UK – were two-and-a-half times more likely to be trans than their cisgender peers.

Separate data published the same year showed that LGBTQ+ individuals were significantly more likely to face financial insecurity in retirement than other members of the general population.

Trans people four times more likely to live in poverty than cisgender counterparts

A 2015 report on the financial state of trans individuals in the US revealed that they were four times more likely to live in poverty than their cisgender counterparts, with the numbers even higher for trans people of colour. Latino and Asian trans men and women were found to be six times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000 (approximately £6,700 at the time).

Another study that year examined the lives of LGBTQ+ people of colour in the US and highlighted high rates of unemployment, poverty and discrimination.

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