School girls not allowed to wear trousers

[LewishamMum]

Just read this in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/03/sex-discrimination-schoolgirls-skirts-girls-trousers-equality-act-2010
Are there really any schools that don't allow girls to wear trousers? Finding it difficult to believe this is a problem now, at least in the state sector!

We have a brand new (opened this September) co-ed school here, where the girls aren’t allowed to wear trousers. They’ve chosen a tartan pleated skirt for the girls so they look like private school kids - I doubt they’d drop that otherwise they’d look like everyone else.

Bit late to this but agree it might be related to density of private schools in the area.

We visited the local catholic primary and liked it, however discounted it due to 'skirts only' (despite at the time having only a boy). Then visited all the other local primary schools and found, to our horror, that every single one of them had the same policy (no, hang on - one state community school stipulated that on exceptionally cold days in winter girls were allowed trousers, but only if the head had given express permission beforehand). Short of moving out of the area, we'd have to go with a 'skirts only' school.

And yes, there are huge numbers of private schools in the area.

The one school that has changed its policy since, now allowing trousers for girls, is an infant school that takes children mainly from a not-well-to-do estate and is avoided by aspiring middle class families.

I went to a non religious school in NI. No trousers for girls then or now.

My daughters (Catholic, SE London) school has a pretty strict uniform policy - Black shoes, navy blue or grey tights, tunic for infant girls, skirt for junior boys, grey trousers for boys. I get them thermal tights.