Parents have slammed a school’s clampdown on female pupils’ “tight” trousers it claims are “distracting teachers”.
One furious mum collected over 200 signatures for a petition to get staff to “stop harassing” girls and punishing them for not wearing “baggy” school wear.
Amy Moule, 37, said her 15-year-old daughter Beth is frequently sent to detention as part of a “ridiculous” ban on how tight girls’ trousers should be.
The headteacher at St Peter’s School, Huntingdon, said it expected pupils to wear “professional attire” and only a minority of parents had objected to its policy.
Ms Moule said her daughter and others were told their clothing was “distracting teachers and students”.
The furore around the school dress policy erupted after girls’ tight trousers – which for years were acceptable – were suddenly banned.
Ms Moule, from Huntingdon, refused to buy the new trousers even after teachers started doling out detention punishments.
The furore around the school dress policy erupted after girls’ tight trousers – which for years were acceptable – were suddenly banned.
Ms Moule, from Huntingdon, refused to buy the new trousers even after teachers started doling out detention punishments.
She claimed that only about one in ten girls at the school were wearing the “baggy” trousers recommended by the school following the change brought in this school term.
“The majority of them are wearing the same trousers – there’s very few that aren’t,” she said.
“I would say only 10 per cent are wearing the school trousers. The rest are wearing tight trousers which the school aren’t happy with.
“It’s just a wasteful ethos. My daughter has been in a few detentions and I’ve said she cannot do them because I’m not changing the trousers as I don’t have enough money to do that.”
Ms Moule claimed her daughter was being “victimized” by teachers and that the resulting stress had affected her GCSE mock exam grades.
“It’s stressed the girls out,” she explained. “They’ve got really stressed out at having to do this and have all these detentions and how they are going to keep getting detentions until they change these trousers.
“Beth told me and it infuriated me, I phoned up the school.
“[The head] says they not acceptable and they are leggings – I don’t think they are leggings at all.”
She branded head teacher Christopher Bennet as “old-fashioned” and claimed he did not know the difference between girls’ “leggings” and formal trousers, saying: “I don’t think he does.
“It’s ridiculous isn’t it? It’s a matter of perception and he’s perceiving them to be.”
Dad Melvin Bream, 40, of Huntingdon, whose 12-year-old and 15-year-old daughters have been affected by the policy change, said: “It’s a load of rubbish. I feel that the uniform is too ‘correct’.
“I’ve had the kids not want to come to school because of it. I don’t think they overtight, no, I think they should be allowed ‘tight’ trousers.
“The school has clamped down on it and the girls are getting detentions for it for no reason.”
Paula Lloyd-Northrop, 47, has told her twin 15-year-old girls not to go to detentions after they got one every day of the week for wearing “skinny” trousers.
She said: “They’ve got something like three-and-a-half months actually left in school to do education for GCSEs and they are clamping right down yet they’ve worn their brand of trousers for the last five years.
“It’s just crazy at the minute because they’ve got their GCSEs – I think they should allow any child to wear whatever trousers they want as long as it’s smart.”
Headteacher Christopher Bennet said “we expect professional attire” and claims only 25 out of the 1,002 pupils at his school were affected by the uniform change.
He said a minority of parents had taken issue with the policy and a letter with an image of what was “acceptable” and “not acceptable” girl’s trousers had been sent to parents over the summer holidays.
“It is all about expectation,” he added. “Some girls are coming in in leggings.”
