A no-girlfriend rule at a Sydney girls’ school formal has been rescinded, thrilling the woman who put the ban in the national spotlight.
Abbie Frankland and her girlfriend, a year 12 student at St Ursula’s College, had been eagerly awaiting next week’s event for months until they realised the Kingsgrove school would not allow same-sex couples to attend together.
Her online petition to Sydney Catholic Schools to overturn the ban rapidly gathered 4,900 signatures last week.
The petition platform Change.org on Friday said the school had met students and reversed its decision.
“In a recent turn of events, St. Ursula’s School in Kingsgrove, NSW, has revised its policy regarding the attendance of same-sex couples at the school formal,” the platform said in a statemen
Frankland said she is “thrilled” to be able to attend the 9 November formal.
“We hope that our story can inspire others to challenge discriminatory policies and practices wherever they exist,” she wrote on Change.org.
Federal education minister, Jason Clare, last week urged the Catholic school to rethink the ban and “show a little bit of common sense”.
“It’s 2023,” he said at the time.
“You should be able to take whoever you want to the year 12 farewell.
“I don’t think any of us think that we should be discriminating against children at our schools on the basis of their sexuality or anything else.”
As federal education minister, Clare is responsible for about 60% of the funding Catholic schools receive each year.
Another 15% comes from state governments and the rest from fees, according to the National Catholic Education Commission.