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Students protest over school’s gender-neutral uniform policy banning skirts
24/02/2023
Parents and pupils were told about the uniform change in a letter on Thursday
Parents and students at the Warriner School are up-in-arms after a new gender-neutral uniform policy was announced which bans skirts being worn.
Its understood a number of students have been protesting outside their classrooms this morning with police in attendance at the school. Shortly before 11am the school announced it was closing for the day on the advice of the police.
Assistant Head Teacher Lotty Keys wrote to parents yesterday (Thursday) telling them that from September all students must wear black tailored trousers. The note also said that a gender neutral Physical Education kit would be phased in from the start of the new term.
Lesley Southam has a daughter in year 10 at the school. She is annoyed that parents and students weren’t consulted.
Lesley said: “This is the second rather large move The Warriner has made with school policies and they’ve not consulted the parents. My daughter attends the Warriner and she’s in year 10. She’s extremely proud of her uniform; she loves her skirts to be absolutely perfect. She’s proud to show off her uniform in assembly and outside the school. I dreaded telling her.”
“Currently the girls have the choice, smart trousers or the Warriner pleated skirts. We all appreciate they have to be a certain length and from the uniform shop. My daughter has got one final year in uniform at the Warriner and whilst that school uniform fits, she will be wearing it.
“I think they’ve taken away the girl’s choices – they’re penalizing the girls. They’ve put in the e-mail it’s a cost effective way of managing uniform costs. How is it? Are these certain trousers we can only buy from the uniform shop? What sort of trousers are these going to have to be? Is it going to cost us lots more money? Maybe they could phase it in with the start of the year 7s in September, but for current parents in the current economic climate. I’m not going out and buying 5 pairs of trousers for my daughter to wear to school every day, just for a year.
“I know my daughter’s got transgender friends who have fought to be able to wear a skirt. Now they will be forced back into trousers.”
In her note to parents Assistant Head Teacher Lotty Keys said the decision to ban skirts had been made because a number of female students did not wear their skirts to the length the school required.
She said: “There is still a challenge by a lot of our female students wearing their skirts to our desired appropriate length. Students who roll skirts to an inappropriate length are sending out the wrong social message in their choice of style — they seem to feel they need to conform to a certain image, in order to fit in with friendship groups. We feel this has no place in an educational setting and for this reason we are introducing trousers for all students.”
But Lesley Southam doesn’t agree this is a big issue. She said: “That is a handful of the girls. It was the same when I was at school in the 80s. We all rolled our skirts up and we all got told to roll them back down. It’s being a teacher – being a parent – the repetitiveness until they get it.
“I think the girls are being penalised here and the parents are extremely cross about it.
“The school is there to educate and show these children they have options. If everybody was the same then we’d be in a regime, wouldn’t we? These are young, impressionable minds and to remove simple options about girls dressing like girls – or boys dressing like girls if they want – it’s wrong. It’s oppressive.
“Children should be taught they have options in life, everything they want to do is achievable if they try and the school are just stripping that back.”
The Warriner School reviewed their uniform policy following the Department of Education cost of school uniform legislation 2021. They say they worked closely with their supplier to make “cost effective and environmental changes to our uniform”.
Following Friday morning’s protests a Thames Valley Police spokesperson told Banbury FM: “We received a report of a disturbance at The Warriner School in Bloxham at around 9.10am this morning (24/2).
“Neighbourhood and response officers attended to ensure the safety of students and staff. No arrests have been made.”
Banbury FM has contacted the Warriner School offering them the opportunity to comment.
Updated: 24/02/2023 1:00pm.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam
John Legg On 24/02/2023 at 12:09 pm
I’m a Year 7 student at this school and I feel this whole incident is completely ridiculous. Everyone should be allowed to wear what they want, and there is no need for communism.
Taadult On 24/02/2023 at 12:25 pm
Having been at the school during, it seemingly started off loud and proud before a bench was broken, adults hurt, younger children scared, SEN kids scared, worried and in ear defenders, some children and families worried about GCSE mocks, also new born animals potentially scared by the chaos. Everyone deserves freedom of speech, but causing danger and harm to others has not worked well in their favour unfortunately. perhaps a parent teacher conference is in need.
J On 24/02/2023 at 12:30 pm
I think there is other ways to tackle the skirts been rolled up with the minority of people that do it. skirts should not be banned instead have an option of skirt or trousers and educate on respectively dressing etc.
lavinia Fermin On 24/02/2023 at 1:56 pm
It feels like they are punishing girls for wanting to be girls, and that doesn’t feel right, we have the right to do whatever we want, it’s our bodies, we choose not them, and obviously, it making parents spend more money, what about the older children who got one more year and have to buy it for only this year, it’s making them spend money on expensive clothes
Theresa Fielder On 24/02/2023 at 2:08 pm
this could be more to do with the current gender crisis where boys are encouraged to be gender fund, and to stop the situation arising where boys might want to wear skirts they have decided everyone has to be in trousers. until a child leaves school boys must be boys and girls must be girls. when they are old enough to vote they are old enough to know what they are doing..hopefully
Jessica Voigt On 24/02/2023 at 2:19 pm
This whole situation is ridiculous. I feel as we are all struggling with money and here they are changing the uniform by getting rid of the skirts. And that they actually thought that it would be fine ,they were wrong, we all know they knew what was coming but they decided to continue and ignore the consequences that would occur.
dylan palmer On 24/02/2023 at 2:21 pm
i think that all girls and boys .e.c.t should be able to wear skirts
Beatrice Kalamabayi-Lara On 24/02/2023 at 2:43 pm
It’s so unfair and annoying.So First ,they ban skirts and force us to wear trousers but let us protest and when I start protesting they wouldn’t let me go in. Then , I got told off about trying to protest. It’s honestly so stupid.
Phoenix Gibbs On 25/02/2023 at 3:35 pm
This whole situation is ridiculous, as a student who doesn’t go to Warriner, I do not have the whole story, yet I agree with the issue of people rolling skirts to inappropriate lengths, don’t get me wrong, I fully disagree that this new rule has another step. To my understanding, Warriner has a few transgender people who wear skirts to say “I was born this gender but identify as another” putting this rule in place loses peoples freedoms and it possibly makes people feel that others don’t agree with this. Another issue in the matter is how this friendly protest turned into a vicious riot: as a person who has only heard of it from people partaking in this, I have the opinion that it clearly didn’t start out as what it became; it was begun as something people wanted to stand for their own rights, lucky for them we are in a free country and it is fully in their rights to protest and voice their opinions, some of those initial people had been told off by teachers etc for protesting, this is taking away their rights as a British citizen. There was a story about a bench being broken, this was an accident and it wasn’t meant to happen. Some of the things being done was terrible, eg throwing a chair down the stairs and chucking stuff at the teachers, these are crimes and you can get arrested for doing this sort of thing. It was an extremely responsible thing to send the student home because it had become an extremely dangerous situation. One of my friends were crying even talking about what might’ve happened to their friends when the police came.
George Checker On 26/02/2023 at 3:36 pm
absolutely disgraceful behaviour of the school. head teachers and/or people instigating this perverse action, should be sacked immediately.
AnAngryBystander On 26/02/2023 at 3:42 pm
Why not force everyone to wear skirts instead, I would argue, based on the schools understanding of gender neutrality, that is just as gender neutral as forcing everyone to wear trousers.
Charlie On 28/02/2023 at 3:10 pm
School uniform is an oppressive and pointless act of dictatorship designed to give teachers a sense of power.
At my school there was simple rules. No large brands emblazoned on anything. No torn or ripped clothes, otherwise, clothing was a style choice. I wore blue jeans, trainers, a T shirt and an open shirt over it (it was the 80s and 90s, what can I say‽)
I see no good argument for school uniforms of any kind. don’t get me started on making girls wear ties. totally ridiculous.