Schoolgirls banned from class and sent home 'because skirts are too short'

11 June 2024 , 13:51

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Pupils have been told that skirts must "reach the knee" (Image: LDRS)

Female students have reportedly been sent home from a school in tears due to the short length of their skirts which allegedly did not follow new uniform regulations.

Parents at Caldicot School in Monmouthshire, Wales, received a letter last week indicating that skirts must reach "to the knee", and that non-compliers were met with wet wipes for removing makeup, nail clippers and requests to measure their hemlines. Acting head teacher Alun Ebenezer has enforced the crackdown and warned parents in the letter: "Students will not be allowed to walk around school if these guidelines are not followed."

A parent said that as many as 200 students were denied admittance to classes on Monday, leading to their parents picking them up with both adults and pupils in tears. Monmouthshire council has said all matters relating to girls' uniforms are being dealt with by female members of staff.

A 14-year-old girl, who spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service with her mother's permission but on condition of anonymity, said she was ordered to have her skirt measured by a male teacher when she arrived. The year nine pupil said: "I walked in and a teacher said to go to [male teacher] to get my skirt measured."

Caldicot School in Monmouthshire (LDRS)

The youngster told of how instead of complying with a leg inspection, she headed directly to the room where students were being held and excluded from classes. She ended up being sent home for wearing false eyelashes, reports Wales Online.

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Amile, a 13-year-old student, had to be picked up by her mother Natalie Kyne, and said: "When I got to school there were two teachers on the front door and they said: 'You've got eyelashes on' and they took me to a room and there were literally about 50 girls in that room."

Mum Natalie said: "They've got all these girls in isolation rooms, they are now calling them holding rooms, for them all to be sent home. It is unfair and targeting girls. It is beyond a joke. They don't even want to teach them."

One father, who asked not to be named, claimed he had to collect his 15-year-old son as his shirt was untucked while he also had to take his 13-year-old daughter home due to the length of her skirt. He said they have been threatened with exclusion from the school over what the school is claiming is a breach of the uniform standards.

The dad said his older child who is 15 and in year 10 was told he could sit his GCSE exam but would be sent home afterwards. He said: "They have a right to an education and the head also tried to tell me it was a health and safety risk. It's totally pathetic. They say they want them to look smart but they'll not have any smart kids if they do not get an education."

Kevin Price, from Caldicot, collected his daughter from school over the length of her skirt and said he was told up to 200 pupils had been denied entry to classes. He said pupils and parents were in tears. Mr Price demanded the school provide him in writing the reason his daughter was being denied an education and said: "I've told them emotional harm is being caused to children today and none of them have raised their voice against it."

Councillor Rachel Garrick, Labour councillor for Caldicot, said she was concerned a series of uniform standards related to make-up, nails, and skirts was targeted at girls. She said: "I always get concerned at a list of reasons to remove education from children that appears focused on gender. It feels very much like girls' bodies are being considered more than their right to an education."

A spokesman for Monmouthshire council said: "We are aware that this morning Caldicot School staff have been more rigorous in implementing the school's uniform policy as published on the school's website. The acting head teacher wrote to all parents and carers last week setting out that this would be the case as of this morning.

"With regards to the specific question regarding the length of skirts in school; all matters relating to girls' uniforms are being dealt with by female members of staff." Last year teachers at the school staged strike action claiming its leadership had failed to address verbal and physical abuse they faced.

Rom Preston-Ellis