Chapman Settles LGBT Sermon Unfair Dismissal Case
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Chaplain settles LGBT sermon unfair dismissal case
Rev Bernard Randall has ended a legal challenge over his dismissal from Trent College.
By Isaac Ashe
East Midlands
Published 10 minutes ago
A chaplain who used a sermon to tell pupils they did not have to believe in "LGBT stuff" has reached a legal agreement with the school that dismissed him.
Rev Bernard Randall was sacked by Trent College in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, in 2019, two months after the sermon. He appealed and his dismissal was overturned, but he was later made redundant after refusing reduced hours.
After losing an unfair dismissal claim, his case had been set for a new tribunal over possible bias on the panel that made the ruling, and Trent College was ordered to pay Randall about £20,000 in costs, according to a court document.
Advocacy group Christian Concern said a confidential settlement has since been reached.
An employment tribunal heard Randall opposed parts of a programme the school was implementing to try to improve LGBT inclusivity.
Randall told the tribunal he believed elements of the programme—devised by charity Educate and Celebrate—were Marxist, revolutionary, atheist, and incompatible with Christian values. He highlighted phrases such as "sex assigned at birth" and "cisgender" as ideologically loaded.
"Educate and Celebrate went beyond a neutral stance of inclusivity into the implantation of ideas I consider to be identity politics." – Rev Bernard Randall
He said he was inspired to write the sermon, delivered in June 2019 to pupils aged between 11 and 17, after a sixth-form pupil asked: "Sir, how come we are told we have to accept all this LGBT stuff in a Christian school?"
Randall included the question within the sermon, which he said concerned school leaders. He also stated: "You do not have to accept the ideas of LGBT activists."
Christian Concern says Randall’s sermon reflected the Church of England’s teaching on marriage but triggered complaints from some pupils, parents, and staff members, who said it nearly left them in tears.
Randall was removed from his role as chaplain at the fee-paying boarding school and reported to the government counter-terrorism watchdog Prevent. The Derby Telegraph reported Randall appealed against his dismissal, which was overturned, but he was given a final warning. Trent College then informed Randall it wanted to reduce the chaplaincy role to seven hours, term-time only, which he did not accept and was therefore made redundant.
At an unfair dismissal hearing in February 2023, the judge said the school’s redundancy process was genuine and reasonable, and the referral to Prevent had been justified "from a safeguarding perspective."
Christian Concern says Bill Penty, the-then head of Trent College, referred Randall to the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) and to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The TRA decided not to take forward a case, while the DBS ruled Randall had no case to answer.
In March 2025, Judge James Tayler, sitting in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, ruled the original judgment was "unsafe" and ordered the case be reheard, leading to the out-of-court settlement. Randall can also preach again.
