Teenage boys wear skirts to school to protest the ‘no shorts’ uniform policy

teenage-boys-wear-skirts-school-protest-shorts-uniform-heatwave

by Emma Dodds |
Published on

Teenage boys have protested their school's "no shorts" uniform policy by wearing skirts to school during the UK's heatwave that has seen highs of 33 degrees celsius

A group of teenage boys have taken on their headteacher in a protest against the school uniform policy which says that shorts are not part of the uniform.

In the hottest week of the year so far which has seen some areas of the UK reach 33°C, the boys have come up with a solution to dodge the policy.

teenage-boys-wear-skirts-school-protest-shorts-uniform-heatwave
The boys have found a loophole in the school uniform policy (Credit: Twitter/ SimonHallNews) ©Twitter/ SimonHallNews

They have chosen to don a traditionally female garment - the humble skirt.

Yep - around 30 male pupils at the ISCA Academy in Exeter, Devon turned up to school wearing skirts to protest against the school's "no shorts" policy.

One of the lads told the BBC: "We're not allowed to wear shorts, and I'm not sitting in trousers all day, it's a bit hot."

The school's headteacher, Aimee Mitchell, told Devon Live that shorts were "not part" of the uniform - but inadvertently became the inspiration behind the protest.

Some pupils said that Ms Mitchell originally made the suggestion, although they didn't think she was making the comment seriously.

But that has now backfired as the 30 boys all turned up to school in skirts.

It seems to have done the trick, however, as Ms Mitchell told the BBC: "We recognise that the last few days have been exceptionally hot and we are doing our utmost to enable both students and staff to remain as comfortable as possible.

"Shorts are not currently part of our uniform for boys and I would not want to make any changes without consulting both students and their families."

But she went on to add that she "would be happy to consider a change for the future."

Claire Reeves, the mum of a boy who goes to the school, revealed that she had asked the school to think about adding shorts to the uniform policy, but was "shot down".

She added that she was "extremely proud" of the boys for "standing up for their rights."

Another mum, Claire Lambeth, told The Guardian that her son Ryan came up with the idea: "Ryan came up with the idea of wearing a skirt, so that evening we borrowed one. He wore it the next day – as did five other boys.

"Then this morning... I didn't expect it to take off like that. I was very proud of Ryan. I think it was a great idea. If girls can wear skirts, why can't boys wear shorts?"

What do you think? Should boys be allowed to wear shorts in hot weather? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.

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