Pupils barred from classes for wearing the wrong school trousers

Some pupils at Springwell Community College in Staveley who were not wearing the correct trousers from the school’s two suppliers were told to swap into an alternative pair.

Those who could not find a suitable sized pair from the school’s reserves were taken out of normal classes and put in insolation.

But the school said the new uniform policy was introduced following consultation with parents and that they had been aware of the changes since February.

Parent Ady Spooner, 43, whose son and daughter were both deemed to be wearing the wrong trousers, said: “The only difference in these trousers is that they are twice as expensive and as twice as hard to get.”

Mr Spooner and partner Vikkie, 37, sent their son and daughter to the school last Wednesday wearing trousers bought from Tesco.

He said they had tried to get the correct trousers from one of the school’s stipulated suppliers on three occasions during the summer holidays but they were out of stock.

Mr Spooner added that the only difference between the trousers they were wearing and the ones they were asked to wear is a label.

Another parent, who did not want to be named, said that the school could not find a pair of trousers for his son so they withdrew him from normal classes.

He said: “It just seems ludicrous. As long as the kids turn up at school and looking smart then what is the problem?”

Headteacher at the school, Ian Wingfield, said: “Our new uniform policy came in to effect on the first day of term. The policy was introduced following consultation with all parents and carers of children at the college. The new expectations were shared with our parents and carers from February onwards. I am pleased to say that the very large majority of students arrived to college in the correct uniform and looked extremely smart.”