The idea pitched to parents, of having all students at The Whitstable School wear trousers, comes after the school faced repeated issues with the length of pupils' skirts, with local residents even sending complaints.
Finn Macdiarmid reports...
Finn Macdiarmid reports...
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00:00Parents everywhere will know the difficulty of buying school uniforms and making sure
00:04that their children wear them right, but for one school in Kent, the issue doesn't just
00:08end at the school gates.
00:11The Whitstable school say they've been having issues with students pulling up their skirts
00:14to inappropriate lengths.
00:16They sent out an email to parents and carers recently which said,
00:19"...as part of our commitment to maintaining high standards and promoting inclusivity,
00:23I'm considering a transition from skirts to trousers as a gender-neutral uniform for
00:28all students.
00:29However, I will not change the uniform without the support of parents."
00:32The letter went on to say the main reasons behind the proposal were that a growing number
00:36of students were wearing skirts that just didn't meet the uniform requirements, resulting
00:40in frequent reminders from staff and creating unnecessary conflict in the classroom.
00:45They said they'd also received complaints from local residents, businesses and parents
00:48about skirt lengths, and some students even came forward saying they feel pressured to
00:52wear their skirts shorter than the policy allows, contributing to discomfort, anxiety
00:57and self-consciousness.
01:27Other parents, on the other hand, believe that their children should be able to wear
01:31whatever they want.
01:32And it's created a very divided opinion on the whole matter.
01:35I decided to see what parents who were picking up their children from the school made of
01:39the proposal.
01:40I agree with it, basically because they're too short.
01:46I know in my day you did wear shorts, er, short skirts, but you had tights on.
01:51I think it'd be better wearing trousers, girls, personally, because they are a bit near the
01:56mark.
01:58It's dangerous for girls to walk around like that, really.
02:03I wouldn't let my daughter do it, no way.
02:05Personally, I can't see that trying to get all the kids to wear trousers is particularly
02:10gender neutral, because trousers would be synonymous with boys at a secondary school,
02:18or any particular school, so I don't quite understand how that in itself can be gender
02:24neutral.
02:25I spoke to the headmaster, Alex Holmes, who said that the school would be releasing a
02:28statement on the topic, but reiterated the email was only intended to get the views of
02:32the parents, and no concrete ideas would be put into place yet.
02:36But in the letter to parents he also said that the efforts to enforce the current uniform
02:39policy weren't having much effect on the uniform problem, which was beginning to impact
02:44the school's student experience and reputation.
02:46Finn McDermid for KMTV in Whitstable.