A teacher suspended for accidentally calling a transgender pupil a 'girl' rather than 'boy' said it was a 'slip of the tongue' as it was revealed his Bible study group was shut down following a row about gay marriage.

Joshua Sutcliffe, 27, said the student, who identifies as male, became 'irate' after he said 'well done girls' to him and a female friend for working hard.

The maths teacher, who does not believe in gender fluidity due to his Christian faith, insisted today he had 'apologised' straight away.

Speaking on ITV's This Morning he said: 'I did not want to offend because it's a sensitive issue and so I was trying to adhere to school policy and teaching standards and uphold my dignity as a professional.'

He also explained how the school had shut down his popular Bible study group that was attended by 100 children after he described marriage as being between a man and a woman in answer to a pupil's question.

Joshua Sutcliffe, 27, appearing on ITV's This Morning today, apologised for the slip and tried to defuse the incident, but six weeks later the student's mother reported him at a parents' evening

Mr Sutcliffe had taught at the top performing state secondary school in Oxfordshire for two years when he mistakenly called the transgender pupil a girl two months ago.

He said: 'I was trying to incorporate the pupil to the class...the pupil was getting the worst scores but then started getting the best.

'It was a small working group and I said "well done girls", which was a slip of the tongue...I didn't want to project anything onto the pupil.'

He apologised for the slip and tried to defuse the incident, but six weeks later the student's mother reported him at a parents' evening.

He was then suspended during a probe.

He now faces a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday in which he could lose his job.

Mr Sutcliffe, pictured with Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre who is supporting him, had taught at the school for two years when he mistakenly called the transgender pupil a girl two months ago

The teacher, who had not been given any formal advice on how to refer to the pupil, said he believed he has been 'punished and silenced' for his religious beliefs.

The family's main concern is reported to be that Mr Sutcliffe was picking on their child and they would not have complained about 'misgendering' on its own as they support free speech.

He said: 'I was absolutely shocked to be told by the head that I was under investigation. I didn't know what was happening. It was surreal, Kafkaesque. I said it was only one incident for which I had apologised, but he insisted the investigation would go ahead.

'I had always tried to respect the pupil and keep a professional attitude as well as my integrity, but it seemed to me that the school was trying to force me to adhere to its liberal, Leftish agenda.'

The teacher, who had not been given any formal advice on how to refer to the pupil, said he believed he has been 'punished and silenced' for his religious beliefs

Speaking today on ITV's This Morning, he added: 'Personally and under law in the country and biologically it makes sense for us to have man and woman and our policy should be influenced by biology and law, not an ideology.

'The students don't really know how to react to it.'

During the investigation he was barred from teaching and forced to spend all his time in the staff room where he was not allowed to discuss what was happening with his colleagues.

He was questioned twice, once for an hour, by an assistant head carrying out the investigation.

'I have never been trained to deal with this sort of thing,' he said. 'I felt completely out of my depth and intimidated.'

The investigation concluded the 'misgendering' of the pupil and 'avoidance of using gendered pronouns' broke the school's code of conduct over 'demonstrating an awareness of sexual and cultural diversity of students and use of insensitive comments towards young people'.

It also said he had made 'religious comments in maths lessons' which demonstrated a 'failure to comply with school policies'.

Joshua Sutcliffe, 27, said 'Well done girls' to the teenager and a friend when he spotted them working hard. But their parent complained to the school and now the maths teacher faces a formal disciplinary hearing this week to face misconduct charges for 'misgendering'

Mr Sutcliffe denied raising religious issues in maths classes, but said he had raised issues such as the anniversary of the Reformation in his general tutor group, as part of discussions of events in the news.

He said he believed his treatment of the pupil and teaching was consistent with the school's code of conduct and equality policies to show respect and tolerance, and said he had encountered no problems with this.

Mr Sutcliffe, a pastor at an evangelical church in Oxford, had earlier faced problems at the school after starting a lunchtime Bible club for students.

He said the Bible club was incredibly popular and attracted 100 students.

The club was shut down earlier this year after he had described marriage as being between a man and a woman in answer to a student's question, prompting a complaint about homophobia.

Mr Sutcliffe said he was 'saddened' at what he believed was an attempt to silence him for his religious views.

'While the suggestion that gender is fluid conflicts sharply with my Christian beliefs, I recognise my responsibility as a teacher and Christian to treat each of my pupils with respect and dignity,' he said.

'I have never looked to impose my convictions on others, I just try to earnestly live out the gospel of peace.

'I have balanced these factors by calling the pupil by the chosen name and although I did not intentionally refer to the pupil as a 'girl', I do not believe it is unreasonable to call someone a girl if they were born a girl. The aggressive way in which transgender ideology is being imposed is undermining my freedom of belief and conscience, as well as the conscience of many people throughout our nation who believe that gender is assigned at birth.

'I have a deep conviction that we are all made in God's image, male and female.'

The row comes as drag queens are being asked to visit taxpayer-funded nurseries so children as young as two can learn about transgender issues.

Dr Taj Hargey, 67, who was a governor of the school for three years before recently stepping down, said: 'It's ludicrous, he made a mistake.

'If he has done it deliberately and tried to belittle the child, then yes maybe he needs to be hauled in front of the governors and warned. But just on the basis of one occasion, I think it's nonsensical. I imagine he's already learnt his lesson and he should certainly keep his job.

'We must stop pandering to the snowflake generation.

'Everyone makes mistakes – and I imagine the parents of this particular student have made some in their lives too.

'We are coming into a type of mindset and environment where every little thing, some snowflake complains and it somehow becomes a disciplinary offence.

'I think it's nonsense and we need to draw a line in the sand.'

Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre which is supporting Mr Sutcliffe, said: 'This is one of a large number of cases we are encountering where teachers are finding themselves silenced or punished if they refuse to fall in line with the current transgender fad.'

Speaking today she added: 'The kindest and most compassion thing to do as teachers and parents is to take children aside and work out how we can help them.

'The Church of England says in report today that we're all made in God's image but what it fails to say is that's either as a male or female and in a society that's confused that's something society is crying out for. We are born male and female, we can't change that...the kindest thing to do is to help children live in the bodies they have.'

Responding to that today Phillip Schofield accused her of being stuck in 'medieval Britain' and described her views as 'abhorrent'.

The former Conservative Party chairman Lord Tebbit said: 'It seems to me this is a mad world when someone is disciplined for stating a biological fact.'

The school did not respond to requests for comment.

But the headteacher told the Mail on Sunday it would not be appropriate to comment on confidential staff disciplinary matters.