Students banned from classroom over 'comfortable' uniform trend
The school is taking a firm stance on a pair of popular trousers.
A high school is at loggerheads with parents after several female students were isolated from classmates over the material their trousers were made from.
Beacon Hill Academy in the UK, which was the focus of a BBC documentary on improving classroom behaviour, has stood by its decision to ban stretchy trousers.
Principal Sukhjot Dhami said he made "no apologies" over the uniform rules, saying the school had taken huge strides by implementing high standards which all were expected to adhere to, the BBC reported.
"Uniform checks aren't new. We do them every morning and have been for the last three or four academic years," he said.
"There are lots of professions, such as the NHS, even working in McDonald's and working in the Post Office and other such industries, where there are strict uniform codes."
The school is asking students wear tailored, full-length trousers.
Parents rage over mental effect of 'severe' punishment
Yet parents are furious over the way the girls have been treated, with one mother branding the punishments of isolation for a full day as "quite severe".
She alleged girls wee "forced to go into cupboards" to change into more suitable attire. The mother also argued stretch trousers were allowed in many workplaces.
Another parent told Birmingham World there had been no problem with such trousers in the previous five years pupils had worn them.
“There are so many children with mental health issues, and this is having such an effect on them, it’s not fair. The school is not supporting our teens – there are year 10 and 11 students missing out on what they should be learning in their final years of education based on trousers," she said, adding the students felt "comfortable" in the trousers.
Around 30 parents reportedly turned up at the school to protest the decision. The school has however refused to back down and stressed in an official statement a "level of consistency" is required when it came to uniforms.
"Uniform which adheres to our policy creates a sense of equality and unity amongst learners helping to mitigate peer pressure related to clothing choices and in doing so, we strive to create an inclusive and equitable learning environment," it said.
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