Protests erupt at schools over ban on using toilets during class and ‘red card’ period pass for girls
24 February 2023, 15:02 | Updated: 24 February 2023, 18:01
Protests have erupted at several schools after pupils were banned from going to the toilet during classes.
Separate protests have begun at schools in Cornwall, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
At Penrice Academy in St Austell, Cornwall, pupils have upended tables and stormed out of classes, after being banned from going to the toilet during lessons.
Girls have also been told they must request ‘red card’ passes when they are on their period.
At the Farnley Academy in Leeds, pupils refused to attend lessons after toilet doors were locked in an effort to 'tackle truancy'. The policy has been criticised as ‘taking away the human rights’ of pupils at the school.
Pupils who need the toilet have to get a written note from their teachers and then hand it to a member of staff posted outside the toilet.
Read more: Junior doctors announce 72-hour strike in March amid bitter pay dispute
At Haven High academy in Lincolnshire, pupils protested over so-called ‘prison rules’ banning them from using the toilet during lessons.
The school has also been accused of locking toilet doors and blocking corridors.
A parent told LincolnshireLive: “"For some strange reason the headteacher seems to be throwing prison rules into the school where corridors and toilet blocks are locked during school time.
"If they need the toilet or anything they have to go through this teacher and that teacher, it's just like a prison in there.”
The parent of a pupil at Penrice Academy told CornwallLive: “'My daughter has just called me to say the protest has got out of hand and students are flipping tables. The children are now not allowed out for break.”
Penrice Academy declined to comment but sent a letter condemning the actions of pupils.
Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'Police are aware of a protest at the academy, but have not been called or asked to attend'
Comments from Farnley Academy and Haven High Academy were not immediately available.
West Yorkshire Police and Lincolnshire Police have yet to issue a statement.
Separately, the police were called to a school in Oxfordshire on Friday after pupils launched a protest against a proposal to make trousers compulsory for all students.
The Warriner School in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, said it wanted to "empower pupils" but school leaders admitted the proposals were also down to girls apparently rolling their skirts up short.
A letter sent by the headteacher to parents said: "Students who roll skirts to an inappropriate length are sending out the wrong social message in their choice of style - they seem to feel they need to conform to a certain image, in order to fit in with friendship groups.
"We feel this has no place in an educational setting and for this reason we are introducing trousers for all students."
In another development his week, female pupils at a Merseyside school have said they have been left "humiliated" over enforcement of a uniform policy that saw girls being made to enter a school separately from boys and have the length of their skirts measured by teachers.
Head teacher of Rainford High School in St Helens Ian Young said like many schools "we have a clear uniform policy".
"The implementation of the uniform policy was carried about by staff, both male and female," he said.
"Unfortunately, during the protests, a number of students breached the school's behaviour policy and this resulted in us implementing our discipline policy and taking the appropriate action in accordance with this.
"Daily school life requires a range of policies and implementing these policies enables our school to create a safe and productive environment, ensure the smooth running of the school and makes sure that a consistent approach is applied."
