A 12-year-old boy in Britain wore a skirt to his school on Tuesday to protest against 'discriminatory' rules which ban boys from wearing shorts.
A 12-year-old boy in Britain wore a skirt to his school on Tuesday to protest against 'discriminatory' rules which ban boys from wearing shorts.
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Chris Whitehead says it is unfair that girls can change into skirts during the hot weather, while boys have to swelter in long trousers. This, he says, affects their concentration and ability to learn.
He is taking advantage of a 'silly loophole' in the uniform policy at Impington Village College, near Cambridge, that means boys can wear skirts as the school would be guilty of discrimination if it tried to stop them.
"In the summer months, girl students are allowed to wear skirts but boys are not allowed to wear shorts," Whitehead said before his protest.
The 1,368-pupil school imposed the ban two years ago after a consultation with parents and teachers. Its 'Look Smart' dress code states students must wear 'plain black tailored trousers or knee-length skirts without slits' - but does not specify gender.
This means that while shorts are prohibited because they are not mentioned, girls - and boys - are free to wear skirts as long as they are 'free moving, not tight against the legs'.
Chris borrowed a skirt from his sister Joanna, 11, and was accompanied by 30 supporters waving placards saying, 'Cool shorts, not hot pants', 'Shorts for the long-term' and 'what's wrong with my legs?'.
Headmaster Robert Campbell said: 'Our uniform policy does not state girls' and boys' uniforms because we can't be discriminatory, so Chris is perfectly within his rights to wear a skirt.
"What he has done is raise the issue in an entirely legitimate way. I think it will be right to start thinking about uniform again in September," he added.
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