A Christian teacher is taking legal action against a school in Sunderland after being sacked for telling students she is pro-life.
Anita Meston, who's been a teacher for 28 years, joined Biddick Academy in Washington in October 2024. During a Year 8 history lesson which focused on the bombing of Dresden in World War II, she asked whether similar moral questions surrounded the current conflict in Palestine. When asked by a pupil, Meston said that she was “pro-Israel” but lamented the deaths of innocent people in Gaza.
Later in the lesson, a different student asked if she was “pro-abortion”, to which she responded that she was “pro-life”.
When asked to elaborate on her position, Meston explained that she held this view because she is a Christian and that she knew women who had had abortions and regretted the decision. A student replied that she knew women who had had abortions and not regretted them, to which Meston responded, “fair enough”.
The following day she was called to a meeting with the school’s headteacher, who told her that a complaint had been made. Meston said she had only shared her personal views in response to a direct question, but following the meeting, her contract was terminated for “sharing personal opinions on political issues with pupils”.
The school’s headteacher said there was a “real concern” that Meston would continue to “cause harm or distress to pupils”.
Meston said that she was “profoundly shocked” at the decision and is suing the school for discriminating against her as a Christian, which she argues is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.
She said: “I do not believe it is a teacher’s role to impose beliefs unrelated to the lesson in the classroom. I merely acknowledged my students’ questions and provided truthful answers before redirecting them back to the lesson at hand. If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree. In a free and just society, teachers should not be fired for honestly expressing their deeply held beliefs in response to questions in the classroom. What happened to me is nothing short of censorship, and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole, a barrister at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is supporting Meston’s case, said: “Schools are places of learning, and teachers should be able to accompany students as they grapple with moral and social issues, including by offering truthful answers to their questions. A teacher-student relationship that is characterised by fear and self-censorship is antithetical to learning.
“It is unacceptable that expressing pro-life and other views in response to a question can result in a person being terminated".
According to The Telegraph, a spokesman for the North East Learning Trust, which the school is a part of, said: “While we are not able to comment on this individual case, we have a clear staff code of conduct, which is consistently applied to protect the safety and wellbeing of our children at all times.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 16 October 2026 at the Employment Tribunal.