250 girls sent home because their skirts were 'too short'

A school on the Isle of Wight has excluded 250 girls from class because their skirts were too short.

The girls, aged between 11 and 18, were removed from classrooms by teachers at Ryde Academy and either placed in an isolation hall or instructed to go home. The school's headmaster said that he wanted to prepare them for the "world of work", the Daily Telegraph reports.Boys at the school were also sent home if their shoes were not made from leather. Other students were removed if their trousers were "too tight".

Dr Rory Fox, the head teacher at Ryde Academy, sent a letter earlier this month informing parents of new rules about "revealing" clothing.Fox said that he and his teachers "are conscious that we are preparing students for the world of work and so it is important that our students understand the importance of managing their appearance and working within the framework of a dress code".

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Parents told the Isle of Wight County Press that they were "furious" they were being forced to buy new uniforms just five weeks before the end of term.

Helen Smith told the Daily Telegraph that her 14-year-old daughter Jade was sent home twice for uniform violations on the same day."The school had an inset day on Monday and we spent the whole day trying to find a new skirt," she said. "I finally bought one for £8 and thought it would be perfect – it was knee length. But when she went to school she was immediately sent home because they said her skirt was too short".

Smith bought her daughter a pair of trousers and the student returned to school, but was sent home again because the new trousers were deemed "too tight".

"It was an absolute joke," Smith said. "It has been a nightmare. I just can't understand why the school have decided to do it five weeks before the end of the year".