A headmistress has banned skirts at a secondary school to spare the blushes of male teachers who were becoming “distracted” by the girl’s raising hemlines. Dr Rowena Blencowe took the action because she was fed up with telling girls off for showing too much leg and wearing skirts that “barely covered their bottoms”.

Describing it as “inappropriate,” Dr Blencowe added the “girls are coming in with skirts that just cover their bottoms.” She said it’s a safeguarding issue and that, when the academic year starts in September, pupils who do not abide by the new rules will be sent home if they do not wear ‘business-like trousers’.

Trentham High School bans skirts because it’s ‘distracting for male teachers’:

Parents have also been divided over the decision with one supporting the decision, saying teachers must be getting “fed-up” of having to put their efforts into telling pupils off about their dress-code – and losing out on valuable teaching time. Another criticised the decision saying it’s “a shame” that the young girls haven’t had a say in the choice.

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Speaking with The Independent, deputy head Laurence Morris described the media furore around the subject as “disconcerting” and expressed his surprise as to how a routine meeting led to this being a national issue.

Mr Morris added: “We don’t seek publicity – we’re not that kind of school. We want to focus on teaching and learning. “We’re a good school making rapid improvements and want to ensure that the students do the best they can do. “We don’t want to waste our time over the lengths of skirts.”

School in UK bans “miniskirts” citing distraction for male pupils and teachers:

Blencowe said it is “not pleasant for male members of staff and students either, the girls have to walk up stairs and sit down and it’s a complete distraction”. “After a while it stops being a uniform issue and starts becoming a safeguarding issue,” she added.

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She added: “It’s been an increasing problem over the past two years, especially with the older pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11. “Girls in year seven, and possibly year eight, tend to abide by the rules, but as they get older the skirts get shorter.

The move comes weeks after a top private school, St. Margaret’s School in Hertfordshire, also banned female pupils from wearing short skirts and “too much make-up” in order to keep them “focussed”.