Mother unhappy that daughter was sent home from school for wearing too tight trousers

The mother of a schoolgirl who was sent home on the first day of term for wearing trousers deemed too tight by school bosses is not happy. 14-year-old Ellisha Oliver was one of a number of girls at South Shields Community School in South Tyneside who were told to change their trousers at the start of the new term because they broke the school’s uniform policy. Upon arrival pupils were told trousers needed to be at least 14cms wide at the bottom.
For those whose trousers did not measure up to the right standards, they were handed new pairs from Asda and sent into a cupboard to change. Those who refused had their parents called to the school to collect them or were placed into isolation. Ellisha, who said the pair she was given were too big to wear, was taken home by her mother Stacy. Stacy, 36, from South Shields, said: "I've never known anything like it.
"I sent her to school wearing a perfectly fine pair of trousers, but she has been told to take them off and wear these other ones which are trailing the ground, because they're so big and she's tiny. She ended up missing a day of school because of this. As for the young girls who have just started, they were beside themselves. What a horrible first day for them, being forced to get changed. It's embarrassing. Do they want the kids to look silly?"

New headteacher Allie Denholm said she stands by her "tightening up" of the school's uniform wearing policy. She says all pupils were treated in a dignified manner and were told to get changed in private areas if their uniforms weren't up to scratch. Ms Denholm said: "We gave the children a choice to either go and change their clothes in a private place or we would contact their parents to come and collect them. All students were treated with respect and dignity. There have been no changes to the uniform policy. We are just tightening it up."