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17th Sep 2021

13-year-old schoolgirl sent home for wearing trousers that revealed her ankles

Kat O'Connor

“Are you saying they’re going to get turned on?”

Wouldn’t it be great if schools focused more on education rather than criticising teenagers over their uniforms?

One teenager was sent home from school because her trousers showed her ankles.

Staff believed the young girl was “distracting” both staff and pupils.

Leeds schoolgirl Olivia revealed she was told to change into clothes from the lost property because her ankles were showing.

She told Yorkshire Live, ” [The staff member] said I had to change my trousers and socks because you could see my ankles and she said it was distracting for other pupils and teachers.”

She then challenged the staff member and asked “are you saying they’re going to get turned on?”

The staff member replied, “Well, I wouldn’t put it like that.”

The pupil said she was told her trousers also “showed my figure too much as well”.

Olivia refused to change into clothes from lost property. She was then sent to isolation and later excluded from school for two days.

She also has to complete three days of isolation when she returns to school.

Her mum, Karen Harrison expressed her disgust at the school.

She said her school,  John Smeaton Academy in Leeds, has been exceptionally strict over uniforms recently.

The mum shared: “Olivia’s trousers are from Debenhams, they’re the ones she wore before with no problems. Now I’ve got to order more trousers.”

She stressed: “They should be more interested in education and not what pupils are wearing.”

The school has refused to apologised and said they have certain standards across all aspects of school life, including dress code.

“We make no apologies for this and are pleased that the majority of students abide by these standards,” they stated.

“We have clear policies in place.”

It’s hard to see any issue with the trousers Olivia is wearing. We think the school has taken a step too far and ought to pay less attention to little things like uniforms and spend more time worrying about children’s education.