Girls in the pink as rules on uniform are relaxed
PRIVATE girls’ schools have relaxed their uniform rules amid fears that a ban on hair and nail colours could negatively affect pupils’ mental health.
Zero-tolerance policies on nail polish, colourful socks and dyed hair has become a thing of the past at various independent schools around the country, as many seek to modernise strict uniform rules.
The Girls’ Day School Trust, which represents 23 private schools as well as two academies, is overseeing the change as a number of their institutions have adopted the Halo Code, an initiative to encourage children to wear their hair as they like in school. It includes a pledge to members of the black community that afro hairstyles can be worn without restriction or judgment.
One of the trust’s institutions to have adopted the code is Sutton High School, an independent day school in Surrey.
Bethany Dawson, the head teacher, said that the school has “girls with pink hair, green hair, long hair, shaved heads, girls with piercings, all sorts of things”.
She added: “I think there are so many studies about teenage girls and how self-identity and a really robust sense of self, and I guess authenticity to oneself, is beneficial to mental health.
“Why would we not allow them to have pink hair? Why not allow them to paint their nails green? Unless there are health and safety reasons, there’s not really a reason. A focus on individuality, that’s what we’re all about here and we want them to be able to express that.”
Cheryl Giovannoni, the trust’s chief executive, said that the change was to “allow young people to express their own identity in a safe environment” and “is part of our mission to place mental health and wellbeing at the centre of everything we do”.
Sheffield Girls’ School, which is also part of the trust, followed suit with the Sutton school. Nina Gunson, the head teacher, said the school wanted to be “as inclusive as possible” to allow students to “be themselves”.