As parents of the school, the undersigned feel that it is important to raise our concerns at the earliest possible stage regarding the new uniform policy. We appreciate the need to have a presentable uniform that everyone can take pride in but making the skirts for the senior girls ankle length appears to be draconian and very restrictive. Pupils need to feel free to run at lunch breaks and participate in active lunchbreaks regardless of their sex and this feels unequitable. For many children this will make getting up/down stairs to classes cumbersome and challenging.

At a time of financial instability and with the recent added VAT, this sudden change without any consultation with parents, on the back of the recent changes to the blazers, is an unnecessary expense.

When we read the letter from Mr Stevens re: the planned changes, we were to understand that this would make uniform more accessible to purchase given the extremely high prices of the previous supplier. We had hoped that this may include a universal colour such as plain grey to enable parent to purchase elsewhere should funds be a challenge in the nature of full inclusivity. However, it appears that this is not the case and the uniform still retains a herringbone design at the cost of £57.50.

As a parent group we feel this uniform change is impractical and discriminatory. With the suggestion that the girls should cover up, surely this is a backwards step in sexual equality. It is unlikely to be appealing to anyone considering joining the school and the slow transition (which is essential to avoid completely unnecessary purchasing of new uniform), will create a two tier system which in turn will create unnecessary social stigma.

We would greatly appreciate this policy be paused to allow for a consultation process