PARENTS have hit out at the "unfair" uniform policy at a Brighton secondary school.

Several parents have criticised Dorothy Stringer School's uniform policy amid allegations of unequal policing and pricing of girls' skirts.

One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said his 14-year-old daughter and her friends are consistently receiving behaviour points for uniform violations, leading to fears of suspensions that could affect their academic futures.

He said: "Because there’s so much emphasis on skirts, one of the hotspots for that is the dining hall - she says that a lot of the girls are not eating lunch there anymore because they don’t want to get more uniform points from the teachers, so they're now taking packed lunches."

He went on to say that he and his wife do not understand why there is such attention paid to girls' skirts lengths "especially after the past 18 months".

​The Argus: Dorothy Stringer girls school uniformDorothy Stringer girls school uniform

It comes after the school brought in the new tartan knee length skirts in 2020 and to make sure they are not shortened, and to make the length easier to police, they have a yellow line which must be on show.

The father-of-three daughters, who have all gone through the school, said: "In this day and age, why does it matter so much? What is the point in all of this time and effort being spent berating children?

"Teaching them that it is their fault if they are looked at inappropriately - what is it teaching girls?"

He added: "I know they can just comply but teenage girls don’t want to wear overly long skirts, they want to look fashionable and express themselves."

Female pupils at Stringer reportedly say that teachers are "on a mission to get girls in trouble".

Their male friends have begun enacting what they call "swarming" which sees groups of boys surround the girls as they walk the corridors to avoid the teacher's giving them the points.

Another parent, who has a twin daughter and son at the school, also said that the uniform policy is too strictly enforced.

The mother, who also asked to not be named, said: “They just put so much emphasis on school uniform, feels like they should be putting their attention elsewhere to be honest.

“What they’re saying is girls need to alter what they’re wearing, so that they’re not tempting boys? Rather than teaching boys 'actually, it's not okay to treat girls that way and don't make them feel uncomfortable.'"

It is not the first time these kinds of allegations have been brought to The Argus.

Last year in a Letter To The Argus one parent said: "When 97 per cent of young women have experienced sexual harassment and are having to modify their behaviour to avoid it, it’s clear that the problem is endemic in our society.

"Turns out this hadn’t gone unnoticed by the girls at Dorothy Stringer secondary.

"Girls, some as young as 12 years old, wanted to know: how can you justify policing the length of our skirts while teaching about sexism in our society? Do you not see there’s a connection here?

"They are still waiting for an answer."

Criticisms of the unequal costs of boys and girls uniforms have also been raised by the parents, stating that the price of the skirts (from £29.95 to £36.95) is much higher than the black school trousers for boys.

The mother of twins said that due to being from a lower income single-parent family they struggle to afford the prices.

She said: "When my twins started last year I forked out about £500-£600 on uniform because it was the new one so there were no hand-me-downs or second hand options.

"It just seems unfair, I could go into Asda, for example, and get the school trousers for a fraction of the price of the skirt, that can only be bought from one uniform shop. And what if you have a family of girls?

"And on top of that, they need a different polo shirt for every day of the week because they're going through puberty you know.

"The shirts are £7.95 for a boys and £8.95 for a fitted girls one, so I tried to get them second hand but they were so dingy and grey and I didn't want to risk more uniform points."

A spokesman for Dorothy Stringer said in response: "As with other local schools, we have a uniform policy and the costs have been benchmarked in line with other schools.

"We have a practical uniform and constantly aim to reduce the overall cost to parents/carers.

"Alongside other schools in the city, we make use of Smarter uniforms to enable clothing to be recycled and reused - www.smarteruniforms.org/pages/current-schools

"We offer support to any parent who struggles financially with the costs of our uniform either through nearly new uniform, or the school purchasing uniform through our charitable donations.

"Our community has been outstanding in helping to ensure no one is disadvantaged so our focus can be on supporting students back into learning during the current pandemic.

"We are planning a consultation on uniform with our school community this year to see if further improvements can be made.

"In addition, our pastoral system has been transformed and the pastoral work we undertake here to support our students has been highlighted by the local authority as an example of exceptional practice."

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