Sweltering boys petition for right to wear shorts instead of long trousers during hot weather at Milton Keynes secondary school

A group of sweltering schoolboys launched a petition for their MK secondary school to allow them to wear shorts during hot weather.

And within two days they won their battle, with the school agreeing to make changes to its strict uniform policy.

The victory by the pupils at Lord Grey Academy in Bletchley could now set a precedent for many other schools that impose a ‘long trousers only’ rule for boys.

The petition stated: “Currently during summer, the male students of Lord Grey Academy have not been able to wear shorts to school. This is a problem as the heat causes wellbeing issues, such as dehydration, headaches, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, etc.

"Many people have expressed their concerns and nothing has been done.”

One parent told the Citizen: “Our young boys are made to wear black or dark grey full length trousers in 25 plus degrees heat. But the young girls in the schools can have a choice of skirts or trousers."

She said a group of male student were last week put into isolation because they wore shorts to school – and they were told they could only wear them if the heat exceeded 32 degrees.

“We have teachers wearing summer dresses or skirts to stay cool, as well as teachers in shorts. Yet the boys are ignored when they plead to be allowed to have the same choice in clothing… How is this fair?” .

"We make a big fuss over equality and being fair, each gender having equal rights. Having different options of clothing and rights for boys and girls isn’t equality. It’s double standards.”

Last Friday, two days after the petition was launched, Lord Grey agreed to a change in uniform policy.

Associate Principal Samantha Satyanadhan said: “Following feedback from students we have now added tailored school shorts to be worn during the summer term.

“We expect that the Governing Body will approve a change to the uniform policy that will enable students to wear shorts if they wish. We expect high standards of uniform at Lord Grey Academy and in rare instances where a student might arrive in the wrong uniform we have ample supplies to lend them the required item for the day."

She added: “In line with Government policy and in consultation with our community, the Governors have recently reviewed the uniform policy to ensure that the cost of uniform is minimised and that it is available from a number of online and high street suppliers. We work with parents and students to make sure that everyone understands the uniform policy that can be found on our school website.”

Lord Grey school prides itself on We creating a positive atmosphere and an “I can achieve anything” attitude through its core values and motto, ‘Lord Grey Can!’

The school is part of the Tove Learning Trust, which includes Stantonbury School and Water Hall Primary School in MK.

Stantonbury School seems to have a unisex uniform policy. This week its website stated that ‘tailored dark grey school shorts’ are part of the uniform.