School says girls must wear trousers
Owen Bowcott
Monday June 21, 2004
The Guardian
A secondary school in Suffolk has become the first in Britain to ban girls from wearing skirts and order them to switch to uniforms with long trousers.
The decision by Kesgrave High School, near Ipswich, was reached after warnings were ignored and hemlines crept up to "inappropriate" levels. The new policy will come into effect in September.
"These days girls wear very short skirts which is against the school uniform policy," explained Margaret Young, one of the governors.
"Two years ago we sent out letters to parents asking them to make sure skirts were regulation length, which is just above the knee. The impact was short-lived and it wasn't long before skirts were very short again.
"We have a very active curriculum and trousers are much more practical. Now instead of having to discipline pupils on uniform inaccuracies, teachers can get on with teaching," Ms Young said.
The few complaints the school has received about the changeover are chiefly concerned with the cost of replacing the old uniform. "We simply do not want our girls going outside with a 'come-hither look'. I think many parents will find it enormously helpful." The 1,600-pupil school, which is also a state college of technology, has a large number of people cycling in every day. The short skirts look "dreadful" on girls who cycle, Mrs Young added.
The headteacher, George Thomas, said the new rules were necessary because skirts had become far too short. He said: "This is not helped by the fact there are not many practical skirts stocked by high street shops. The changes to the uniform are an issue of practicality as well as equal rights."
There have been test cases in the past involving schools which adopted the opposite policy of banning girls from wearing trousers. Four years ago a 14-year-old pupil at a school in Gateshead won a legal battle over the issue on the grounds that she was being discriminated against. Her campaign was backed by the Equal Opportunities Commission.
An EOC spokeswoman said yesterday: "This is the first time I have heard of a school with the policy of banning skirts. If anyone tried to challenge it under the Sex Discrimination Act then they would need to show that the dress code was more restrictive for girls than for boys."
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