This post is in relation to the article that is on the BBC surrounding the issue of school uniform; more specifically at Hartson Academy in Kent . I believe this to be an example of school uniform standards going too far. Whilst I believe that school uniform Is important; in this instance I believe they have taken this principle to an extreme. Sending pupils home for not wearing “appropriate” school clothes puts the representation of the school first, rather than the pupils education.

Furthermore by sending pupils who are wearing school uniform that is deemed as inappropriate in terms of this specific schools uniform standards, the school is wasting pupils valuable learning time; and this is time that these pupils will never get back. Recently in the news there have been reports that the GCSE exams have been made even harder.In an article posted by the BBC it stated that “The new-style GCSE exams in England are the most difficult since the end of O-levels in the 1980s.” So why would a school who’s best interests should be its pupils and their education, send home students who are potentially already stressed and worried  enough about the demands of their year at school? Perhaps the students and even some parents are finding it easier to understand the new GCSE courses than this schools policy on  uniform.

In addition it is clear that parents are outraged by this policy, and one man even stated that he would no longer be sending his daughter to the school; this clearly shows a negative relationship with the school is being formed for many parents. This therefore means it will be harder for certain families to work in collaboration with the school, as they have formed a bad relationship with the school and this may have a negative impact on a pupils education; which in turn may lead to further stress for pupils and may negatively effect their health and wellbeing. If this situation occurred in Scotland would this be in keeping with the GIRFEC policy? I think not.

On the one hand, whilst I have appeared to have taken the same side as the outraged parents I do understand the head masters point of view. He wants his school to be viewed as a proper and respectable school that has pupils who wear there school uniform with pride . However, on the other hand I strongly believe that the head master should take in to consideration both the  money and the time that this is costing his pupils. Many parents will be unable to afford new school uniform every year and since this dress code has newly been implemented, it adds additional stress on to parents as well as pupils. Therefore, overall I believe that the school that is referred to in the BBC’s article has taken their code of conduct surrounding school uniforms to an extreme and have lost sight of what truly matters the pupils and their education.

References:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-37298505  (Last Accessed: 28/09/17) This is the article which my argument is based on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41000575