By Tollbar Academy makes sudden changes to uniform
Well-known secondary school Tollbar Academy has made a sudden change to its school rules and school uniform policy.
The school started making changes in May after new headmaster Nigel Whittle joined the Academy in April this year.
In January 2022, the school reinforced its uniform policy by clamping down on its strict ‘trouser’ rule.
The school prohibits its students from wearing skin-tight trousers, that are cropped at the ankle. The school gave students one day to change their uniforms or face the unit until the matter was resolved. For several weeks they placed a total of 105 girls into the unit until they changed their trousers.
After the May half-term, headmaster Nigel Whittle informed form tutors to tell the students about the new rules that were going to be taking place.
Mr. Whittle introduced ‘standard detentions’ which take place at the end of the day for half an hour for the following reasons: being over 4 minutes late for class, blazer sleeves rolled up, shirt untucked, shirt sleeves rolled up, coat on in the dining halls.
One student at the school has said: “we will now be given out a standard detention for answering a teacher with the word ‘what’ and not ‘pardon.”
These detentions were even given out to the year 11 students who were taking their GCSEs that month, many students found it unfair that they weren’t allowed to attend a revision class instead, meaning they were falling behind and needing to catch up.
At the end of June, the school council at Tollbar Academy came together for a meeting with various teachers to discuss changing the school’s uniform. The students and teachers came up with a new tie and are bringing back the skirts with a new design. They also agreed to stop changing the blazers when moving to the upper school.
The trousers, that many parents had to change at the start of the year, left them furious and outraged.
Parents are pushed to buy these for the new year but this new uniform is not compulsory, yet.
(Written by: Tilly Green)
