Police called and school near Banbury shut as pupils protest following uniform policy update that bans skirts

A school near Banbury was forced to close for a day after pupils organised a protest against a uniform policy, which bans skirts.

The Warriner School on the edge of Bloxham, Oxfordshire, was forced to close on Friday (February 24) after police were called to the protest. The school sent out an urgent message for parents to collect their children after being advised by the police about concerns for the safety of the "school community".

The protests organised by pupils of the school were sparked after parents received a letter from the school informing them of uniform policy changes due to start in September, reports our sister paper Banbury Guardian.

Parents of students at the school received a letter on Thursday (February 23) informing them of an outright ban on girls wearing skirts and a gender-neutral physical education kit.

In the letter to parents, the school informed them that all students are to wear black tailored trousers from September and during the summer months all students will be able to wear knee length black shorts.

The Warriner School has stated the reason behind the decision was to promote inclusivity and "further support and empower our students with our values of equality and respect."

In the letter, the assistant head teacher said: "This was a decision made because, unfortunately, there is still a challenge by a lot of our female students wearing their skirts to our desired appropriate length. Students who roll skirts to an inappropriate length are sending out the wrong social message in their choice of style – they seem to feel they need to conform to a certain image, in order to fit in with friendship groups.

"We feel this has no place in an educational setting and for this reason we are introducing trousers for all students."

Upset parents have claimed the change in uniform will punish the body of girls at the school for the actions of a minority. The parents have also argued that the changes are an expense that parents do not need “forcing” upon them during a cost of living crisis.

Many upset parents of students at the school have been in contact with our sister paper Banbury Guardian and taken to social media over the school’s handling of the situation, claiming the lack of communication or consultation with parents has left them feeling that their children are being punished incorrectly.

One parent who wished to remain anonymous said: "The girls are getting the message that this is your fault because of how you dress, they are learning what it's like to face blame over appearance. Let's not stand by and let them accept this."

Another parent likened the initial letter sent to parents about the uniform change as something from the women's suffragette's movement and said: "You send out this nonsense message that women yet again have to conform to a man's world, women again are coming second to men."

Following the protest and closure of the school, Dr Annabel Kay, executive headteacher, said: "Our students organised a protest against a change to our uniform policy due to be implemented from September 2023. We fully respect the rights of students to protest and we want to hear the voices of young people in a safe and constructive manner.

"We underestimated the strength of feeling on this issue and recognise that we haven’t properly engaged or consulted with all parents and students. For this, we apologise. Our intention was, and remains the case, to be inclusive, supporting and empowering all our students equally and with respect.

"We have listened to our students today and we are committed to engaging further on our uniform policy, and on other future policy changes, with both parents and students in a constructive and positive manner,” Dr Kay added.