THE decision last month by Brisbane's Anglican Church Grammar School - commonly known as Churchie - to ban same-sex partners from attending a year 12 formal raises two important questions: The first is whether the all-boy school was right to do so; the second, did this amount to discrimination?
In response to the first question, the school's headmaster, Jonathan Hensman was unambiguous: "The senior dinner dance is an opportunity for our young men to escort young women in a formal school environment. We don't intend to change our practice.
"As well as being a social occasion, it's an education forum and, to that end, the school decides what is appropriate behaviour and what is not."
Mr Hensman was arguably justified in putting forward the school's right to decide what is deemed appropriate and what is not. He was later backed by the school council.
"The council strongly supported the headmaster's position on the school's education programs in social settings," the council said in a statement.
Council members "also thanked the headmaster for his leadership and his ongoing commitment to the highest standards of education for Churchie boys".
Notwithstanding Churchie's assumed right to make its own decisions about who can and cannot attend a school formal, whether banning gay students amounts to discrimination is less clear.
What is certain is that schools are likely to face increasing pressure to be accepting of gay or lesbian students. If schools reflect the society in which they operate, then same-sex partners are a fact of contemporary social relations.
Schools open to scrutiny after same-sex ban
The Age, Australia
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