School uniform rule - girls not allowed trousers

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

I'm wondering if I can call on the collective wisdom of you good people to help me construct my argument in the best way.

Dd (5) and yr 1 attends a local R.C primary school that I am more than happy with. She suffers from recurrent thrush and this year I noticed that when she wore tights under her pinafore it seemed to exasperate the problem. I checked the school prospectus for details because I have never seen a girl in trousers at the school and it states that girls must wear a pinafore or skirt as school uniform..

I then emailed the head and explained the issue and asked for clarification on the rules and she said that the last time the issue came before the chair of governors they decided not to introduce trousers as part of the girls uniform. She was very sympathetic and pleasant and said that if I got a doctors letter perhaps she.could allow it.

Now, there is no way dd would wear trousers if no one else was and I also feel that this would high light the issue / invite questions into something that is no one else's business.

So if you are still with me, I want to get the issue raised again with the chair of governors because I cannot think of any valid reason in this day and age why girls should not wear trousers if the want to. I have to speak at a parent voice meeting and if I can muster enough support the issue will be on the agenda of the next governors meeting where I can present my argument.

Where to start? Can anyone offer pointers?

Sorry for the essay

If you want to post or pm a draft of your paper I am happy to comment on it. Part of my job is writing business cases so happy to help where I can.

I left school just over 10 years ago and trousers for girls were only allowed in my final year. We had an awful teacher who used to stare at girls legs quite obviously during classes. Apparently the trousers were added to school uniform policy after a pupil made a complaint about him - but no action was taken against the teacher!

Presumably you'd all support a boy's right to wear a skirt then? Equality is a two way street.....

One local schoolboy did just that, MDBS, but I don't think the issue is quite the same. In this country, trousers are normal dress outside school for most or all girls and women, but skirts are rare on boys and men.

Well I've sent in my letter and the vote is tonight, will update when I have a result. Fingers crossed

crossing fingers here too!

I'm disgusted that schools can still do this

Just seen your thread. Good luck for later. Please don't give up if at first you don't succeed. Well done so far.

Just read this all - good luck, hope you get a sensible response from them.

Just come back to this one to see what progress has been. Good luck! Hope they see sense.

Oh I am anxious

I got an email from parent governor saying there was a long debate and strong feelings on both sides. They have decided to send an official letter to parents inviting them to give their opinion on the matter as it is obviously a contentious issue. Also said I will receive an official response from the school to my letter.

Total limbo

"...it is obviously a contentious issue"

In the 21st century, girls wearing trousers is a contentious issue. >

Good luck and hope the response will be sensible.

This is so disheartening. I really despair of attitudes that girls wearing trousers 'is a contentious issue'.

I would really really struggle to send my children to a school that didn't allow girls to wear trousers.

Contentious issue. My God.

However, come to think of it, in the DD's school you have to be in Year 5 before you are allowed to wear trousers. It's an all-girls school and I never thought about it before.

Oh no! You want girls to be able to wear trousers!! Don't you know that's the first step on the path to their downfall???

I really think it's time to involve your local press; girls wearing trousers a contentious issue? I really don't think so.

They must have really calm, easy lives if they think that's contentious. It's so not.

Do you think many parents will vote yes to trousers?

I've emailed the head to ask of they will include my letter with the survey as I feel it's important that people understand why the change in policy is being proposed. She has refused saying it could be seen as influencing the result and the survey needs to be an impartial gathering of opinion.

So, should I print a copy of the letter and hand it out in the playground? Can they stop me from doing that?

Where to go from here? I'm afraid that only the busy bodies who are against the change will take the time to return the survey

Are they sending out the survey to all parents, or just the ones who have girls at the school?

It seems unfair that parents of only boys could out vote the parents who have girls who would be directly affected, for reasons such as 'they will have shiny trousers because their parents, unlike the parents of boys, have no idea how to pick out suitable trousers' or 'girls don't look smart in trousers' etc.

Parents of girls who like to wear skirts/dresses shouldn't be able to stop girls who would prefer to wear trousers either of course. It's about adding in a choice, so is only of interest to those who would want to take it up really.

Good luck. I think you do need to speak to parents who might be swayed by your reasoning but I can see why writing those reasons down could be seen to be.. er... argumentative by people who see girls primarily as shop dummies rather than students. I think it would be assertive, and of course assertiveness in females my be just what they are trying to curb by stopping them from wearing the same practical clothes as boys.

You might well find that the more parents in the school are conservative on this issue than the general population (and most definitely than the MN FWR board) because they are a bunch of people who have selected a school with that 'look' and may be unwilling to see that 'look' change.

I would be put off a school with that sort of sexist uniform policy, and wouldn't tend to send my child to a religious school because I would make the (possibly unfair) assumption that they might be more 'old fashioned' and sexist. That's not to say you are going to be the only parent who thinks its daft though, and absolutely try to change the policy.

My children go to a cofe school and girls can wear trousers. They look smart. (One boy did come into school wearing a skirt to prove a point and sensibly no one said a word and he went back to trousers the next day).

I'm really impresed that boys do occasionall wear a skirt to prove the point - I think a Tube driver did that last summer too when they wouldn't let him wear shorts.

When DD1 started at her C of E high school no girl had ever worn trousers (although interestingly they were allowed as official uniform. Tomboy DD started wearing them because she climbed over a fence to take a cheeky shortcut on the way to school and within weeks the other girls were following in droves.
Five years on we were picking DD2 up from school the other day and failed to spot anyone in a skirt. DD1 was chuckling about her "legacy".