Teh One Who Knocks
08-01-2013, 11:41 AM
Walkwood Church of England Middle School in Redditch is believed to be the first in England to stop pupils under the age of 13 from wearing skirts
By Fionnuala Bourke - The Birmingham Mail
http://i.imgur.com/v2HtAXu.jpg
A Midland school is banning girls as young as nine from wearing skirts – because hemlines have climbed too high.
Walkwood Church of England Middle School in Redditch is believed to be the first in England to stop pupils under the age of 13 from wearing skirts.
As well as ordering girls aged nine to 13 to wear trousers from September, pupils will also be banned from wearing blouses from 2014.
They will be required to wear shirts, similar to the boys, instead.
Head teacher David Doubtfire said the ban was necessary to get some of the girls to cover up at school because they were wearing skirts that were far too short, making them appear ‘unladylike’.
The ban comes as more and more young girls copy the look popularised by pop star Britney Spears in her Oops I Did It Again schoolgirl video, and by actress Megan Fox in the movie Jennifer’s Body.
Pupils of TV’s fictitious Waterloo Road school are often seen in short skirts, too, prompting concern about inappropriate attire among teachers.
“Some of the older girls were beginning to wear extremely short skirts,” said Mr Doubtfire.
“It was becoming difficult, especially when it came to them sitting down in the school hall. It was very unladylike.
“We would ask them to make their skirts longer, but they would just roll them up again when we turned away.”
He added that the decision would also help to streamline the uniform and make it cheaper for parents.
“We want to simplify the uniform,” he explained. “It was getting complicated, and this should make it cheaper for parents. Some of the blouses were expensive. Our parents seem to be all right about it, although 20 have written to us to say they are not happy. We have had a couple who have turned round and said it makes life a lot easier for them. Others want to know the rationale behind it.”
The Walkwood School ban will come in at the beginning of next term.
“Skirts will be banned from September,” said Mr Doubtfire. “The blouses ban does not come in until 2014 to enable some parents who have already purchased blouses the chance to buy shirts later.
“Girls may be allowed to wear dresses in the summer. We are going to have a consultation on this. Other schools in Redditch, and several in Warwickshire have already banned skirts. I do not know if we are the only school in the country to stop nine year-old girl pupils from wearing skirts. This was not something we looked into at the time.”
Campaign group School Skirt Ban (SSB) offers advice to parents on how to fight such decisions.
It has also questioned whether skirt bans are legal and has sought advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
A spokesman for the group said: “We were told that although there is no legal precedent, the Commission would strongly advise schools against doing this.
“This is because such an action would, in practice, prohibit girls from wearing skirts, which could be considered a case of indirect discrimination.”
Campaigners have been monitoring the number of schools across Britain to ban skirts. According to their research bans currently exist in 63 secondary schools, but no school until now has stopped pupils as young as nine from wearing skirts.
At some schools in the Midlands bans have been overturned. The group says the policy no longer applies at Brunts Academy, Nottinghamshire, Martin High School, Leicestershire and Greenwood Academy, in Castle Vale, Birmingham.
Meanwhile, boys ditched their trousers for skirts to help beat the heatwave at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. The Year 10 boys were promptly ordered to put their trousers back on earlier this month.
By Fionnuala Bourke - The Birmingham Mail
http://i.imgur.com/v2HtAXu.jpg
A Midland school is banning girls as young as nine from wearing skirts – because hemlines have climbed too high.
Walkwood Church of England Middle School in Redditch is believed to be the first in England to stop pupils under the age of 13 from wearing skirts.
As well as ordering girls aged nine to 13 to wear trousers from September, pupils will also be banned from wearing blouses from 2014.
They will be required to wear shirts, similar to the boys, instead.
Head teacher David Doubtfire said the ban was necessary to get some of the girls to cover up at school because they were wearing skirts that were far too short, making them appear ‘unladylike’.
The ban comes as more and more young girls copy the look popularised by pop star Britney Spears in her Oops I Did It Again schoolgirl video, and by actress Megan Fox in the movie Jennifer’s Body.
Pupils of TV’s fictitious Waterloo Road school are often seen in short skirts, too, prompting concern about inappropriate attire among teachers.
“Some of the older girls were beginning to wear extremely short skirts,” said Mr Doubtfire.
“It was becoming difficult, especially when it came to them sitting down in the school hall. It was very unladylike.
“We would ask them to make their skirts longer, but they would just roll them up again when we turned away.”
He added that the decision would also help to streamline the uniform and make it cheaper for parents.
“We want to simplify the uniform,” he explained. “It was getting complicated, and this should make it cheaper for parents. Some of the blouses were expensive. Our parents seem to be all right about it, although 20 have written to us to say they are not happy. We have had a couple who have turned round and said it makes life a lot easier for them. Others want to know the rationale behind it.”
The Walkwood School ban will come in at the beginning of next term.
“Skirts will be banned from September,” said Mr Doubtfire. “The blouses ban does not come in until 2014 to enable some parents who have already purchased blouses the chance to buy shirts later.
“Girls may be allowed to wear dresses in the summer. We are going to have a consultation on this. Other schools in Redditch, and several in Warwickshire have already banned skirts. I do not know if we are the only school in the country to stop nine year-old girl pupils from wearing skirts. This was not something we looked into at the time.”
Campaign group School Skirt Ban (SSB) offers advice to parents on how to fight such decisions.
It has also questioned whether skirt bans are legal and has sought advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
A spokesman for the group said: “We were told that although there is no legal precedent, the Commission would strongly advise schools against doing this.
“This is because such an action would, in practice, prohibit girls from wearing skirts, which could be considered a case of indirect discrimination.”
Campaigners have been monitoring the number of schools across Britain to ban skirts. According to their research bans currently exist in 63 secondary schools, but no school until now has stopped pupils as young as nine from wearing skirts.
At some schools in the Midlands bans have been overturned. The group says the policy no longer applies at Brunts Academy, Nottinghamshire, Martin High School, Leicestershire and Greenwood Academy, in Castle Vale, Birmingham.
Meanwhile, boys ditched their trousers for skirts to help beat the heatwave at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. The Year 10 boys were promptly ordered to put their trousers back on earlier this month.