LONDON - A BRITISH schoolboy has returned from his holidays with a new name and a new look; he's now a girl.
According to UK media outlets the 12-year-old is in the process of undergoing surgery that could make him the world's youngest sex-change patient.
Turning up at school on the first day back from holidays, the child wore a long dress and hair in pigtails, reported The Sun newspaper.
Parents and children at the school were shocked by the transformation, telling the media that there had been no warning in advance of the child's new identity.
Teachers exacerbated the problem by holding an emergency assembly and informing the students to treat the former boy as a girl.
They also outed the child publicly saying: 'You may notice one pupil is not present in this assembly - that is because the pupil is now a girl.'
The Sun reported that angry parents said their children were confused and in tears and said the school should have told them in advance.
The child's parents have reportedly changed his name by deed poll and are supporting him with his hormone treatment.
They apparently thought that his disguise of clothing and long hair would stop him from being bullied but he was immediately recognised.
The Sun reported that the child had been telling his friends 'for years' that he yearned to be a girl.
