A school in Banbury was forced to U-turn over its proposals to introduce gender netural school uniform after students organised a mass protest.
A mass protest at The Warriner School last Friday was provoked by the school sending parents a letter on Friday, February 24 informing them that from September 2023 girls would be banned from wearing skirts.
Pupils protested against the uniform change in large numbers at the school site in Bloxham, and the school was forced to close.
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Police response officers were called to the site but no arrests were made.
Executive Headteacher Annabel Kay issued a statement about the issue, which 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.”
An anonymous student at the school told the Oxford Mail: "I think that the change in policy is outrageous; particuarly to remove something that girls fought so hard for and for so long for.
"I think it is very disrespectful and I think we did a good job in standing up for what we believe in.
"The school should think very long and hard about changing their minds because the students will not sit down when they feel so strongly about this particular subject."
The Warriner School’s quickly U-turned over the new gender-neutral policy and the change will instead be put to a student and parent consultation before any changes are made.
There have been calls from parents on social media for the headteacher to resign.
In the email sent to parents, they were told all pupils would be required to “wear black tailored trousers” and a “Gender Neutral Physical Education Kit.”
The school issued a further clarification on the gender-neutral school uniform U-turn in which they confirmed that “a structured consultation with the whole school community” would be put in place.
The school said they were “concerned” that the disruption caused by the knee-jerk uniform proposal had disrupted students’ studies.
A spokesperson for the school added: “On the run up to this important exam period its now vital that we work together, to minimise any further disruption to young people’s education at this critical time.
“We would ask that you speak to your child and help us return to delivering our responsible and respectful learning environment on Monday.”
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: “We received a report of a disturbance at The Warriner School in Bloxham at around 9.10am on Friday 24 February.
“Neighbourhood and response officers attended to ensure the safety of students and staff. No arrests have been made.”
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