Mercy High School, a Roman Catholic girls' school near Detroit, reversed an earlier decision and reinvited Ms Granholm to take part in a school fund-raiser this Saturday.

ECONOMIST: Not her fault, she says

The problem started at a small Catholic boarding school for girls.

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Earlier this week, Pinknews.co.uk reported that students at St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls in Carshalton were "encouraged" to sign the "anti-equality pledge" by the school's headmistress.

BBC: Education Minister Michael Gove

In third grade, Larry transferred to a Catholic school, where boys and girls wore different uniforms and stood in separate lines before class.

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Katheen Gormley spent ten years as principal of St Cecilia's College, a Catholic girls' secondary school in Londonderry, and is now principal of Hazelwood Integrated College in Belfast.

BBC: 'All my life' led me to integrated education

But the tensions came to a head in June in a dispute over access to the Catholic Holy Cross Girls' Primary school.

BBC: Q&A: Tension in north Belfast