London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Dismissed Eton teacher loses sacking appeal after ‘toxic masculinity’ lecture enraged school’s top brass

Dismissed Eton teacher loses sacking appeal after ‘toxic masculinity’ lecture enraged school’s top brass

The Headmaster of Eton College has said that the all-boys school has upheld the dismissal of a teacher after a controversial lecture questioning “radical feminist orthodoxy” was posted online for a Perspectives Class.

Will Knowland, an English teacher at Eton, who was sacked for allegations of gross misconduct, has had his appeal rejected, the school’s headmaster, Simon Henderson, said on Monday.

Henderson told parents that it was “frustrating” that the debacle had played out so publicly but called on them and Eton Masters to “move forward together for the benefit of the boys.”

The headmaster of the elite 580-year-old all-boys school said that intellectual freedom “lies at the heart” of an Eton education but claimed that there are “limits to the freedoms that teachers have.”

"It has been suggested by some that intellectual freedom is somehow being compromised within Eton. It is not."


The £42,500-a-year college has contended that the dismissal was a matter of “internal discipline” and “not a matter of free speech.”

Henderson said the school needed a period of evaluation and to “consider how we continue to maintain a positive dialogue between those who hold opposing views.”

Knowland was sacked earlier this year after he posted a lecture online when he had been told he could not deliver it to the pupils. It was decided that the lecture was in violation of the school’s commitments and did not provided the students with a balanced viewpoint.

A number of points were highlighted as toxic, including a claim that male rape was more prolific than male-on-female rape, along with comments on other sexual assault patterns without figures to back this up.

Other parts of the lecture which encourages students to consider what it means to be masculine and question gender perception touches on courage, honour, chivalry, innate aggression and the notion of ‘manning-up’.

Knowland also cites a story from the Marie Claire magazine entitled ‘Why I Left My Beta Husband’ where the author discusses why she said “I felt like the man in our relationship.”

The school claim they were left with “no choice” but to ask Knowland to remove the video from YouTube as it fell foul of equality laws. Knowland refused and the video remains online.

Knowland has received the support of many of his pupils and has raised over £60,000 for potential legal fees.

The Free Speech Union (FSU), a mass membership public interest body which is supporting Knowland, says that they will lobby for an amendment to the Equality Act 2010, a law which says it is unlawful for any education provider, including a private or independent provider, to discriminate between pupils on grounds of protected characteristics and beliefs.

General Secretary of the FSU, Toby Young, said: “The Act was never intended to prohibit teachers from introducing their students to a broad range of different perspectives on controversial topics, such as sex and gender.”

The lecture, which promotes critical thinking albeit without considerable academic rigour, has been viewed over 130,000 times on Knowland’s YouTube channel.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
×