Off-Topic: Skirts Ban in English Schools

A school in Redditch has banned skirts in their school; from the next school year girls must wear trousers. Similar bans have been enforced in other English schools over the last few years, but I'm writing about it now because it's in the news again. For instance, read the two following reports from yesterday:

• A neutral report by the BBC
• A critical report by the Telegraph

Now for my thoughts on the subject. First of all, England is a country that has a long history of school uniforms. The choices made by schools have always been arbitrary, so the bottom line is that it's up to the schools to tell the pupils what to wear, and it's up to the pupils, both boys and girls, to obey.

But the question is whether I consider it right for schools to ban skirts as part of uniform regulations. Of course, I know the reason for the ban. Schools have become concerned about girls wearing skirts that are too short. Most schools have strict rules about the minimum and maximum lengths, but these rules are easy to circumvent. When I was at school the girls had a trick; they used to roll their skirt around their belt to make it shorter. If anyone complained it was easy to pull it back to its full length, and it was just as easy to roll it up again as soon as the teacher who had complained walked away. Apart from this, if a girl really wants to flash her panties at a teacher in an attempt to make him stutter, she can position herself to do this with a skirt of any length.

An often quoted argument is that the ban on skirts for schoolgirls is to protect them from being stared at by paedophiles. This is utter nonsense. English schoolgirls feel no need for protection. If they really felt threatened they would wear their skirts longer and take care to sit appropriately. The truth is that the ban is intended to protect teachers. Many men become flustered when having to teach a class of short-skirted girls, to the extent that they have to remain seated to prevent further embarrassment.

A problem for teacher?

Instead of banning skirts there's an easier solution. Men who can't handle budding female sexuality shouldn't be teachers. They should look for another job they are more suited to.

Girls want to look like girls. They don't want to look like boys. Ideally they would like to follow the latest fashions, but in a country where school uniforms are enforced it's not possible. A compromise has to be made. The clothing should at least be feminine. If girls want to wear trousers, let them. But skirts should not be banned. That's wrong.

Queen Mary's High School, Walsall

In some cases schools can't make their minds up whether to enforce their own rules. An example is a school local to me, Queen Mary's High School. Their web site says "Skirt must be no shorter than just above the knee. Trousers worn below knee length skirts may be worn for religious reasons". That sounds clear enough, but look at the photo above which I copied from the school's official prospectus. What the school is actually telling their girls is, "We have uniform regulations, but if you don't want to keep them it's no big deal".