Katharine Birbalsingh has been showered with praise and her advice sought by policymakers around the world after the academic successes of the state school she founded in a deprived area.
Now, the headteacher of Michaela community school in north-west London is locking horns with the government over a new issue: the height of boys’ trousers.
In a letter to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, Birbalsingh took issue with proposals in the government’s schools bill going through parliament. But her most eye-catching objection is to the legislation’s limits on school uniform logos.
The aim of the bill, which would apply to schools in England, is to restrict them to three items of clothing or kit with a logo, allowing parents to buy cheaper uniform staples such as shirts or trousers from retailers including Aldi and Marks & Spencer.
Birbalsingh sees that initiative as the thin end of a wedge that could ultimately lead to sexual exploitation.
“A rule that requires branded trousers may not seem obvious to the non-teacher, but allow me to explain. In the inner city and even beyond, boys who are vulnerable to the street, begin by pulling their trousers down their backsides,” Birbalsingh writes.
“Having trousers that cannot be pulled down, but that can be recognised easily by a cleverly positioned logo so that teachers can hold their standards high with the kids, means that vulnerable boys in the inner city are more likely to feel as if they belong to their school. It also ensures girls are not pressured into shortening their skirts or tightening their trousers.
“This limits opportunities for sexual exploitation and keeps both boys and girls safe from harm. If kids at private schools have this protection, so should poor kids in the inner city.”
Michaela’s compulsory branded uniform is relatively modest, with just four items, including a blazer for £32, school bag, jumper and trousers. Each pair of branded trousers costs £19.50 for older boys, while Asda sells two for £14.
The government said 24% of primary and 70% of secondary schools still required five or more branded items, and that the measure would save families £50 a child each year. But Birbalsingh said: “Schools collect in hundreds of secondhand uniform items, dry-clean them and sell them at a fraction of their original cost.”
Her letter includes a string of other complaints, including over the Department for Education’s decision to cut funding for state schools teaching Latin.
But before inviting Phillipson to visit Michaela, Birbalsingh includes one more personal complaint: “I note that you refused to congratulate Michaela when asked to do so in the House of Commons, on achieving the highest Progress 8 [GCSE results] in the country three years in a row – something never done before. I have no idea why.”
In response, a government source said: “The last 14 years have seen outcomes for disadvantaged children go backwards, with growing attainment gaps and more children persistently absent from school.
“We’re acting in the interests of parents and families fleeced by school uniform outfitters for too long and we’re cracking down on it after years of inaction by the Tories.”
