Boys told not to wear shorts to school, so they showed up in skirts
These schoolboys are fighting their school's dress code, one skirt at a time.
Around 50 boys at Isca Academy in Exeter, UK, protested their school's no shorts policy by turning up in skirts on Thursday, reported by Devon Live.
The students reportedly got the idea from the school's head teacher, who jokingly suggested they could wear skirts if they like.
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A searing heatwave has left students struggling from the weather, despite parents complaining to the school about its antiquated uniform policy.
Trousers are mandated for boys, while girls can also wear skirts. Students were told they would be disciplined if they turn up wearing shorts.
"The weather has been so hot recently and it's got to the point where my son is suffering," Clare Reeves, a mother of a student at the school, told the publication.
Boys at Isca Academy in Exeter wear skirts to school in protest at not being allowed to wear shorts in hot weather. pic.twitter.com/XHrffnSQEN
— Simon Hall (@SimonHallNews) June 22, 2017
"I have called the school several times and they have told me that if I send my son to school in shorts then he will be sent to the isolation room all day and if I keep him off school then it'll be an unauthorised absence."
In a Facebook Live video by Devon Live's Colleen Smith, boys said they were borrowing skirts from the girls for their protest.
One boy who wore a skirt said he got told to take it off because he had "hairy legs," while another said it was a "nice breeze" wearing a skirt instead of trousers.
On social media, there was plenty of support for the protest.
It's how we rock down here! Well done lads! Bet the school secretly loved it! https://t.co/Lof5Bqa5yz
— Sgt Harry Tangye (@DC_ARVSgt) June 22, 2017
Direct action is always stylish https://t.co/b7voZk9rK6
— Carl Gent (@GentCarl) June 22, 2017
Fair play to the lads!
Certainly getting the publicity they deserve to overturn an absurd uniform rule. https://t.co/SM5Mmllk7d— Ian Martin (@ian0martin) June 22, 2017
Aimee Mitchell, the school's headteacher, released a statement online explaining it would consider changing its uniform policy "in future" as hot weather becomes more normal.
"Shorts are not currently part of our uniform for boys and I would not want to make any changes without consulting both students and their families," she said.
In the meantime, Mitchell said students can alleviate themselves from the heat by not wearing a tie, loosening the top button of their shirts, and untuck their shirts during class — but not outside of it.
Across Europe, men have also been putting on skirts in defiance of uniform policies which stop them from wearing shorts.
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