AMIB to ask high school to rethink banning skirts for year 7?

[MaggyMays]

AIBU… My daughters about to start high school and they have decided to introduce a new uniform policy with no skirts allowed for just the year 7’s. The years above them can have the choice! This seems grossly unfair. I'm sure its not following the guidelines correctly. Has anyone else come across this?

Yes, the trouser style is not negotiable either at our school. They have to be tailored trousers which don’t suit or comfortably fit every shape. The supermarket designs don’t always fit to size . Fun times 😂

Our secondary banned skirts a few years ago. I guess making a unisex uniform list works for all. It is nice not see lots of teenage girls arses all over town in the summer.

They’ve obviously had some significant problems to do with skirts - whatever that might have been. They’ve chosen to remove the problem by banning skirts. Trousers are fine so just follow the policy and do not start a row over something so minor with a school that is most likely struggling (most are).

I think schools already do have rules on skirt lengths but it's probably not as easy to police as it might appear, especially when they are on the way to or from school.

School trousers for girls is a pita as girls come in lots of shapes and sizes depending on whether or not they’ve gone through puberty. The school uniform manufacturers have devised lots of fits for boys to combat this problem but I’ve not seen it to take into account things like hips for girls. I suspect that the next problem is that girls with hips will be told that their trousers are too tight until girls trousers come with different hip fit.

My dd wore skirts for school because it was impossible to find school trousers with the right waist, leg length and fit for her body type. She only wears trousers out of school but she’d have to try dozens of jeans before finding a good pair.

I would not want to be a teacher doing uniform check either. Happy to see if someone is wearing trainers instead of school shoes but I’d feel like a pervert if I had to flag a child’s skirt length- even if I thought it was too short.

Yes, my daughter has friends in senior years and feels its unfair that she cannot make a choice, but because the school have not issued reasons behind decision I cannot explain why. Emotional outbursts are happening frequently as she enters puberty and this is just adding to the list 😂😬
I have pointed all the above out but there is no explanation which is disappointing.
Thanks x

It is not fair for young teenage boys whose testosterone development is ahead of their brain development to be exposed to thighs and knickers in school (should keep themselves under control doesn't come into it they are also still children)

"Should keep themselves under control" bloody does come into it! They're not 3. "I could see her thigh and couldn't help myself" is not an excuse for sexual harassment/assault.

I don't think anyone, of any age or any sex, should be showing their knickers/pants to anyone because their clothing doesn't cover it. But just for general decency, not to help a 13 year old boy keep his hands to himself.

I doubt there would.be many such.accusations, certainly not enough to justify punishing the entire female population of the school by banning skirts.

Not wearing a skirt as part of a uniform is not a punishment though? Trousers are more practical for movement, generally ok for uk weather as well. Its a UNIform anyway, it makes sense for it to be very straightforward with little.variation.

I went to an all girls school where we wore kilts and even though we had a uniform policy, the majority of us rolled out kilts up to make them shorter. The school said all kilts had to be 4 squares long which didn't help as on some it would be swinging around our calves and other would be well above the knee. They tried knee length but the kilts only came in one length so obviously a tall, slim person would have a shorter kilt than a shorter, bigger person.

Plus, the craftier of us altered our kilts to make them shorter.

We already felt like tits in our stupid, OTT uniform so being able to wear your kilt the length you wanted made us feel a tiny bit in control.

Teenagers want to look and feel good. Some of the time they overshoot and get it wrong and end up looking daft but I really do believe in letting them express themselves, which such a restrictive uniform doesn't allow.

I can't see what the fuss is about. Wearing trousers is practical and easy.

My mother was a police officer and skirts were a big issue with female officers frequently assaulted. They now issue trousers as standard.
Sadly my daughter was expelled for wearing trousers at her girls school yet the teachers in the meeting that day were wearing them. It was overturned but she never went back.
Marks do different fits in school trousers. They are more expensive than the supermarkets but I think they last longer. All my DC uniform was handed down when too small.
We call too small school skirts a belt! 😄

The next step will be to put girls into burkas so that they will not make things difficult at all for male staff.

No the next step will be even more staff leaving and the quality of education falling because parents argue with absolutely every rule ever put in place because they have decided that their little darling should never ever be upset or disappointed or inconvenienced in any way for some reason.

Why is this an issue? No skirts mean less arguments and issues about rolled up skirts.

Don't be ridiculous. It is to protect the male staff from the accusations they get from teenage girls when they tell them that their skirt does not comply with school uniform policy.

Really? I can tell you it is a daily occurance at any high school I have worked in. There are always pupils disrespecting teachers in all kind of ways. Teenage girls kicking off if told they are not wearing correct uniform. I've seen them stand in the middle of the corridor shouting at a male teacher that he's a perv because he told them their skirt didn't comply with policy. Like I said it is a daily occurrence. So many people seem oblivious to what these kids can be like and especially on here think all girls are sweet and lovely when the opposite is often true.

Are you actually so dim that you believe that crap? Maybe stop and think about how much damage a mouthy teenage girl can do to someone's reputation just because she doesn't want to be told her skirts too short.

Yes, I've asked about that! The Uk seems to be getting colder not warmer 😂 so no argument there just yet. But the few sunny days we do have, I agree, shorts would be a sensible option. But then u are just buying them for a very short period of time which makes no sense financially I suppose.
Thnx

So you think its fine for pupils to make false potentially life and career ruining allegations against staff then?

I think you have misunderstood. There is a fashion amongst secondary school girls at many schools to wear skirts that are extremely short. Not just very short but so short that they are not worth wearing, so short that they are above the blazer line. Staff (male and female) are then placed in the awkward position of having to point out that exposed bottom cheeks or underwear on show is not suitable.

This is so patronising. Girls rolled up their skirts in the 1960s, nothing new there. School trousers are not as comfortable and many of the available school trousers do not work well for a wide range of female body shapes. If they do away with skirts, they should ditch the whole idea of synthetic, expensive, conformist, and unaesthetic school uniform and just allow jeans, t-shirts and hoodies, like most of the civilised world.

This puts staff, especially male staff, at risk.
Such risk, poor male staff😥

I would have hated this at school as trousers never seem to fit me properly. Having said that though I didn’t roll my skirt up so far you could see my pants!

If I were in charge I'd ban school uniform entirely.

Most girls in my ds'c school wear short stretchy cycling shorts under their skirts, no pants in sight.