Two Inverclyde schools still have mixed-sex toilet facilities

Freedom of Information responses obtained by campaign group For Women Scotland, and reported on by The Herald, show that Kilmacolm and Whinhill primary schools are equipped with shared toilet areas.

The response from Inverclyde Council details that the two schools feature ‘fully-enclosed WC spaces (not cubicles) where the washing facilities are within a shared space’.

In 2025, the Court of Session ordered that Scottish schools must provide single-sex lavatories for pupils after parents won a legal fight against a council which insisted on installing only gender-neutral facilities.

More than 100 schools across 14 Scottish local authorities still have some form of mixed-sex toilet provision for pupils (Image: Newsquest)

Refreshed guidance from the Scottish Government issued following the ruling last year states that separate facilities must exist for both boys and girls.

In June, a judge at the Court of Session ruled that a school had acted unlawfully in its provision of toilets at a primary school where the main toilets are in mixed-sex areas, and said a female pupil suffered indirect discrimination.

The For Women Scotland responses show that there are 126 schools across 14 Scottish local authorities in Scotland that still provide some form of mixed-sex sanitary facilities.

The facilities across Scotland range from open-plan toilet blocks accessed through a communal entrance, to gender-neutral facilities which sit alongside single-sex provision.

A spokesperson for Inverclyde Council said alterations would be made to the facilities at the schools.

They said: “We have reviewed the provision following the judgement and are taking forward alterations to incorporate the wash facilities within each enclosed individual WC space.”