Parents of students attending Bridlington School in East Yorkshire have been left outraged, after management banned female pupils from wearing skirts because they made certain staff members feel ‘uncomfortable’.
The new rules were introduced after a male member of staff approached the school’s headmistress, claiming to have been put in an awkward position when he told off a pupil over the length of her skirt.
Headmistress Sarah Pashley proceeded to ban skirts in the school uniform, issuing a letter to parents in which she said all pupils were to wear the same style of trousers going forward.
Parents have reacted angrily to the move, with a petition launched on the grounds that the new rules are ‘unfair’ and ‘ludicrous’. The petition to reinstate the old uniform rules has gathered significant support, reportedly collecting over 1,000 signatures so far.
Commenting on the move, Ms Pashley said: “To set it in context, on one occasion when a male member of staff challenged a female student on her skirt length, she retorted, ‘You shouldn’t be looking at my legs.’ The male member of staff was understandably uncomfortable with this and reported it to me immediately.”
She added, however, that trousers have also been an issue in the school, with students constantly ‘pushing the boundaries’ by opting for tight-fitting styles.
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