Skirting the rules

IF, AS claimed, male teachers measured the length of girls’ skirts at a school in Merseyside, this was bound to cause trouble. As a teacher,

if I thought a girl’s skirt was too short, I asked a female colleague to step in and measure it for me.

however, schools nowadays make their uniform regulations very clear. there are always pupils who will challenge them and, unfortunately, parents who scream abuse about their rights at every opportunity — and frequently complain about a lack of discipline at the same time.

k. MILLS, Hampton, S.W. London. FRoM 1960- 1967 I attended a grammar school where it was common for girls to be held back after morning assembly to have the length of their skirts measured.

We also had to wear a beret out of school, and if we were spotted without one, the punishment was having to learn a poem. to the best of my knowledge, none of us was mentally scarred by this.

M. raffertY, ripon, n. Yorks.