BBC The pupils of Laneshead Primary School took part the gender neutral experiment for a BBC show

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A class of seven-year-old pupils were given a “gender neutral bookcase” which featured stories about a princess saving a prince and a princess with superpowers during the six-week trial. Class teacher Graham Andrew, who is also the head of Lanesend Primary School on the Isle of Wight, was banned from using affectionate terms such as “sweet pea” and “mate”. Education experts fear the experiment could cause the children involved psychological distress and harm, both in the short and long-term.

There may be a case for legal action against the school and the BBC if any child has suffered psychological harm or distress, either in the short term or the long term Chris McGovern - Chairman of the Campaign for Real Education

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “There may be a case for legal action against the school and the BBC if any child has suffered psychological harm or distress, either in the short term or the long term. “The BBC seems unable to separate fantasy from reality. The fantasy world created at Lanesend Primary School might be permissible in science fiction drama such as Doctor Who, but it can run close to child abuse when translated into real life.” The results of the experiment will be shown in two-part BBC2 documentary No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? on August 16.

The BBC describe the show as a “bold, engaging and provocative experiment” which is the inspiration of medical doctor Javid Abdelmoneim. According to the BBC, the doctor “aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of “gender neutral” treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness”. Dr Abdelmoneim said: “Girls significantly underestimate how clever they are and have less self esteem. Boys can’t express their emotions except for anger, which is really disturbing.”

BBC Dr Javid Abdelmoneim introduces a series of 'interventions' to 'gender neutralise' the class