The Daily Telegraph

Boys in skirts force school to back down on uniform policy

- By Helena Horton and Olivia Rudgard

A SCHOOL where boys wore skirts in protest after being banned from wearing shorts during the heatwave has backed down and amended its uniform policy.

ISCA Academy in Exeter, Devon, said it would make amendments to its summer uniform after around 50 boys came to school in skirts in protest at restrictiv­e rules.

The protest started after boys were told they could not wear shorts to school but must wear trousers in the hot weather.

But the school has now said it will change its policy from next year to allow boys to wear shorts during the summer.

One of the boys who took part in the protest on Thursday said: “We’re not allowed to wear shorts, and I’m not sitting in trousers all day, it’s a bit hot.”

In a statement, the school said: “Shorts are not currently part of our school uniform for boys.

“However, as summers are becoming hotter, shorts will be introduced as part of our school uniform next year having first consulted with students and parents.

“We feel that introducin­g a change in uniform part way through this year would put undue pressure on some of our families. In the meantime, our summer uniform allows students not to wear their jumper or blazer.

“Also, recognisin­g the recent temperatur­es, students have also been allowed not to wear ties, to have the top button on their shirts undone, and to wear their shirts untucked if they are feeling very hot.”

However, the protest may not be over yet.

One boy said: “We will keep wearing skirts for the rest of the term until they let us wear shorts. Next summer might not be hot like it has been this year.”

A viral video from Devonlive, a local newspaper, which was posted on Wednesday showed a group of boys changing into skirts and shaving their legs with disposable razors outside a local shop.

On Thursday and yesterday more students wore the skirts in an effort to force the school to relax its strict dress codes.

One mother, who has a 14-year-old son at ISCA college, said: “My son wanted to wear shorts but was told he would be put in the isolation room for the rest of the week.

♦ Schools are “sowing confusion” in children’s minds by over-promoting transgende­r issues, a leading academic claimed at The Telegraph Festival of Education yesterday. Dr Joanna Williams said that feminists were attempting to reshape school policies on gender.

 ??  ?? Ryan Lambeth, 15, left, was the first to wear a skirt and came up with the idea with friends Jack Gent and Brandin Tolman
Ryan Lambeth, 15, left, was the first to wear a skirt and came up with the idea with friends Jack Gent and Brandin Tolman

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