A mother has told of her ten-year-old daughter’s devastation that her school was branded ‘intolerant’ after she gave the wrong answer when asked ‘what is a lesbian’.

Ariella Wilkinson came home crying after Ofsted inspectors interrogated her about homosexuality during a visit to Grindon Hall Christian School.

The free school, in Sunderland, has now been put in special measures after an official report found that discrimination ‘persisted’ at the school because of ‘homophobic language’.

Ariella Wilkinson, 10, came home in tears after being questioned by Ofsted inspectors. Her mother Lena said the questioning was 'completely inappropriate'

Parents say inspectors ‘aggressively’ questioned just a few young children about lesbian relationships to form the basis of their judgement.

They deny their children are intolerant and are compiling a petition against Ofsted’s decision, which has the potential to close down the well-performing faith school.

Ariella’s mother Lena, 46, said: ‘The questioning was completely inappropriate. They asked her what lesbians were, and whether she felt trapped in someone else’s body.

‘She said she didn’t want to talk about it, because she was embarrassed. She didn’t know why they were asking and she wasn’t prepared for it.

‘She’s been crying a lot over it. She thinks the bad Ofsted report is her fault.

‘The silly thing is, Ariella knows about same sex relationships because one of our best family friends is gay.

‘There’s no way she’s homophobic – she just didn’t realise they would be asking that kind of thing. They put her on the spot.’

After speaking to Ariella and several other students, the inspectors rated the school ‘inadequate’ on pupil safety.

Open: Grindon Hall, which teaches pupils aged four to 18, has a Christian ethos but no faith-based selection criteria, resulting in an intake that includes pupils from various religions

They wrote: ‘Use of derogatory language relating to race or sexual orientation persists because the curriculum does not teach pupils about equality, diversity and the need to be tolerant and respectful towards those who are different to themselves.

‘Pupils’ response to inspectors’ questions showed immaturity and a lack of awareness in discussing these matters.’

But Mrs Wilkinson, a pathology registrar who lives in Sunderland, said this verdict was ‘grossly unfair’ and did not reflect the ethos of the school.

She added: ‘We don’t think it’s fair to be asking children these questions.

‘They’re highly personal and they’re also irrelevant. Ofsted should be assessing the school on the quality of the education. This is beyond its remit.’

The schoolgirl said she felt to blame for the school's branding as 'intolerant'

Ariella, who dreams of becoming a dentist, moved to the school three years ago from a local state school, where she was being bullied.

Her mother says she has flourished at the school and gone from being a mediocre pupil to being one of the best in her year.

Her younger siblings, Joel, 10, Samuel, 7, and Hannah, 5, have also thrived– with Samuel now three years ahead of his peer group in reading.

Mrs Wilkinson, who is a British-born Indian, and her husband Andrew, 42, a nurse, said their children were upset by Ofsted’s findings.

She added: ‘It’s true that it’s a Christian school, but the ethos is not discriminatory. My children know all about other faiths.

‘A lot of the other schools around here are dire, but this school is truly wonderful. It would be devastating if it closed down.’

Grindon Hall Christian School was placed in special measures earlier this week after officials identified serious weaknesses in teaching and behaviour from their visit in November.

Principal Chris Gray strongly disputed the negative findings and said he will challenge the hostile inspection.

He said: ‘We have happy, high achieving pupils, and we are oversubscribed - we always have a lot more applications than we have places.

‘Yet Ofsted’s approach to us was negative at every stage, as if the data collected had to fit a predetermined outcome.’