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
00:09end 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 all
00:28students. However, 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.
00:59Some believe that the issue of the short skirts is such a bad one that it's almost creating
01:03a culture within the school of bullying.
01:05Now, other parents, on the other hand, believe that their children should be able to wear
01:09whatever they want, and it's created a very divided opinion on the whole matter.
01:14I agree with it, basically because they're too short.
01:18I know in my day you did wear short skirts, but you had tights on.
01:24I think they'd be better wearing trousers, girls, personally, because they are a bit
01:28near the mark.
01:29Yeah.
01:30It's just dangerous for girls to walk around like that, really.
01:35I wouldn't let my daughter do it, no way.
01:38Personally, I can't see that trying to get all the kids to wear trousers is particularly
01:43gender neutral, because trousers would be synonymous with boys at a secondary school,
01:50or any particular school.
01:52So I don't quite understand how that in itself can be gender neutral.
01:57I spoke to the headmaster, Alex Holmes, who said that the school would be releasing a
02:01statement on the topic, but reiterated the email was only intended to get the views of
02:05the parents, and no concrete ideas would be put into place yet.
02:09But in the letter to parents he also said that the efforts to enforce the current uniform
02:12policy weren't having much effect on the uniform problem, which was beginning to impact the
02:17school's student experience and reputation.
02:19Finn McDermid for KMTV in Whitstable.
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