PARENTS are furious with a school for banning skirts and forcing an earlier start without asking them first.
They accused Tiverton High School of acting with a “complete lack of democracy” and said the changes had not been thought through.
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But headteacher Sammy Crook hit back and insisted there was no need to consult them.
The school in Devon sent parents a letter yesterday telling them of the new rules, effective from September.
Other changes include cutting lunchtime from 45 minutes to half-an-hour, with two half-hour breaks, and reducing the number of lessons from six 50-minute slots to six of one hour.
Dad Stephen Moakes said: “I have concerns about the changes.
“These have been made without any consultation with the pupils or parents and are simply being imposed.
“As a school that encourages its pupils to be engaged and have a voice, this seems to be a complete lack of democracy.
“What about consideration for parents who have to consider morning wake-up, breakfast and drop-off routines, possibly including siblings at other schools?
“These changes have not been thought through and the children especially have not had an opportunity for their views to be heard.”
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Mrs Crook insisted the changes are in the interests of students’ learning.
She told Devon Live: “Changes such as this are not something we need to consult parents on, but we have been mindful of how they may affect parents and have consulted with local transport providers.”
She added the gender neutral uniform policy, which does not ban skirts for PE, will prevent pupils abusing the rules.
Mrs Crook said: “It has proven time-consuming and frustrating for staff to enforce in-school and is beyond our control out-of-school.
“Trousers standardise how our students dress, so that we and they can focus on what we consider to be our primary objective: learning.”
In February parents hit out at four primary schools after telling pupils to use “grown-ups” instead of mum and dad.
The schools in Brighton said the phrase should be use to avoid discriminating against non-traditional families.
