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LET them wear shorts!” went the cry. A clutch of bold young gentlemen from Isca Academy in Exeter has been widely hailed for their campaigning spirit in wearing skirts to school when denied the option of shorts in hot weather.

I say widely and widely is what I mean. The story – and the pictures of the wee lads in their short tartan kilts – made The Washington Post, the Sydney Herald and the Times of India. A video of the boys was viewed around nine million times and a tweet from a BBC reporter received more than 50,000 retweets. They featured on American news channel CNN. You can’t barely buy that kind of publicity.

On the hottest day of the year – allegedly; it was brisk here in Glasgow – the boys complained they were not allowed to wear shorts. They were sweltering and wanted a breeze about their ankles to ease their perspiring brows. A teacher said, I imagine flippantly, that they might like to wear skirts.

Pity poor headteacher Aimee Mitchell who must have been overwhelmed with the calls from journalists eager to find out whether the protest had changed uniform policy. (For those wondering: “Shorts will be introduced as part of our school uniform next year.”)

Also making international headlines were male bus drivers in the French city of Nantes who similarly wore skirts in hot weather to protest a shorts ban.

Why, then, does a story ostensibly telling us that men wear clothes generate worldwide interest? Quirky or moralistic school uniform stories always seem to gain traction: skirts too short, blouses too flimsy, outfits too distracting, uniform too expensive or should be done away with altogether.