A school has backtracked and allowed pupils to wear shorts in the heatwave after a skirt protest. Ysgol Bro Dinefwr in Llandeilo said it will allow pupils to come to lessons in PE kit shorts.
Year nine pupil Oscar Ralph, 13, went in to the school yesterday wearing his sister’s uniform skirt saying it was too hot to wear trousers. He said he liked school but couldn’t concentrate “sweating” in trousers as soaring temperatures remain in the twenties.
Headteacher Mr Eirian Davies told parents last night that he had changed the rules. He confirmed in a statement on Friday, June 16:“With the weather now warming we will be monitoring the situation in classes and across the school to ensure temperatures are comfortable for everyone. We have today allowed pupils the option of wearing their PE kit and will notify parents of any further changes in good time.” To get our free daily briefing on the biggest issues affecting the nation, Wales Matters here
Read more: Boys wear skirts to school in protest at no shorts policies in heatwave
Oscar’s mother Hannah Jones said it was the right decision and she was proud her son, who loves school, had highlighted the issue by going in wearing his sister Lottie’s grey school skirt. Hannah said: “Oscar’s very happy to be wearing his PE kit today, so will be hanging up his skirt for the time being.
“We’re really proud that Oscar has the courage to stand up for what he believes in and has inspired others to do the same.”
Hannah and husband Andrew were keen to stress Ysgol Bro Dinefwr was a good school and there son was happy there. They said it had not been logical to insist on no shorts in the hot weather and they were glad the school had relaxed the policy.
But another school in Carmarthenshire, where boys are also going in wearing to protest the no shorts rule, won't be changing its no shorts rule. Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth, in Llanelli, re-iterated that only skirts or trousers are allowed, so some boys said they will continue to wear skirts because they are cooler in the heatwave.
They and their parents said they had asked politely if PE shorts could be worn during the hot weather. Pupils, some of whom are sitting GCSEs, said it was too hot to concentrate wearing uniform black trousers so they had gone in wearing skirts borrowed from friends.
As an official part of the uniform skirts are allowed. Boys making the protest said they had no problem wearing them and had not been made fun of, infact, others had joined them to do the same.
Year 10 pupil Dainton Harries, 14, who went into school again today to sit a GCSE science exam wearing a skirt, said: “It’s been way too hot in black trousers. We aren’t breaking the rules wearing skirts. It was cooler wearing a skirt and I felt I could concentrate better.”
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His friend Levi Smith, 15, said: “Six of us went in in skirts we borrowed from friends. The school didn’t say anything.
“We all just carried on as normal. It felt much nicer and more comfortable in the heat wearing a skirt and no-one made fun of us.
But Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth headteacher, Arwyn Thomas insisted: “At Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth, as with most secondary schools across Carmarthenshire, we expect all our pupils to wear the formal school uniform. As a school community, we will continue to work together to monitor the situation and weather patterns carefully. If there are any changes, parents will be informed through our usual communication channels.”
School uniforms are a matter for individual school governing bodies, which means some neighbouring schools in the same local education authority area might have had different rules set for what pupils were allowed to wear. Parents at two schools in Bridgend Local Education Authority have complained this week after their children were given detentions for wearing shorts or too short skirts.
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