A co-ed high school in Australia reportedly asked boys to rate potential partners based on a system that prioritized looks, being a virgin and a “strong Christian” over ethics and ambition.
Instructors at St. Luke’s Grammar School, an Anglican institution in Dee Why, separated 10th-grade boys from female pupils for the Christian studies exercise, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The girls, who were in another classroom, received articles on why staying a virgin until marriage was important as boys were reportedly given 25 points to allocate for qualities they sought in a potential partner — including six for intelligence, being a “strong Christian” and abstaining from sex.
“Now this is supposed to be for a lasting relationship,” the assignment stated. “You have to prioritize what you think is important.”
Five points were allocated for “physically fit” partners, or someone being “easy to talk to,” while four points were earmarked for those who go to church and don’t lie or cheat.
But performing well in school and being “socially competent” was worth just two points on the rating scale, which doled out one point for a potential mate who is “generous” or “adventurous” and “cares for the world,” according to the assignment.
The female students between the ages of 15 and 16 were “disgusted and really offended” upon learning of the exercise, one student told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Some of the boys, meanwhile, described the assignment as “build a bitch,” according to the report.
The school’s headmaster, Geoff Lancaster, sent parents a letter last week apologizing for the assignment. He then addressed the students involved Monday, acknowledging the material was inappropriate while vowing to oversee a review of Christian studies lessons.
Tenth-graders at St. Luke’s are typically split up by gender for Christian studies, according to the report.
The assignment comes after a report commissioned by the Anglican Church released earlier this month found the incidence of domestic abuse was higher among Anglicans in Australia than the general population, the Herald reported.
“As an Anglican School, students will experience an inclusive community that treats each person as important because they are made in the image of God,” the school’s website reads. “The school adopts an intellectual rigor to all subjects and also to the study of the Christian faith.”
Critics took aim at the school on its Twitter page, with some denouncing its “disgusting, archaic [and] sexist” lesson plans.
“This is everything that is wrong with religion in schools,” another tweet read. “Get that crap out of our schools!”