A school has introduced a ban on pupils wearing skirts because it’s a ‘distraction’.

As of September, every pupil at Trentham High School, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, will be expected to wear ‘business-like trousers’ to class.

Headmistress Dr Rowena Blencowe said she introduced the new dress code because staff were constantly telling girls to roll their skirts down and it was becoming ‘an increasing problem’.

‘Girls with the right length skirts are just rolling them up. We tell them in form period to roll them down, but by first break they’re back up again,’ she explained.

She added: ‘It’s 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.’

Two pupils model the current school uniform – a choice of trousers or a black knee-length skirt (Picture: Newsteam)

Girls are currently allowed to wear black trousers, or skirts that go to the knee or just above along with black tights. But that’s all change from the start of the new term.

The headmistress is introducing the ban as a last resort, after other efforts to curb the problem failed.

‘If a skirt is too short, the student is warned and a length of time is agreed for the issue to be resolved, but girls are still coming in with consistently short skirts,’ she said.

She adds: ‘We’ve tried calling parents, sending pupils home and we’ve even had to buy some girls new skirts, which isn’t something a school should have to do.

‘We really take this seriously – I want the students to look smart.’

Parents and students are divided over whether it’s a good move to ban skirts (Picture: Newsteam)

Deputy headteacher Laurence Morris told Metro.co.uk: ‘The decision was made based on the fact that debates about skirt length were becoming a distraction from our core business – teaching and learning. If every lesson has to start with a member of staff telling students to sort out their uniform, that’s a waste of everybody’s time.’

He explained: ‘It can be uncomfortable for a male teacher to have to have that conversation with a teenage girl so they sometimes choose not to do so – that leads to inconsistency.’

The ban received ‘unanimous backing’ from staff and school governors.

However, reception from parents and students has been mixed.

15-year-old Katie Palmer said: ‘The new uniform looks really good and is practical. I always wear trousers and most of my friends are not fussed about it.’

However, another 16-year-old pupil argued: ‘In this heat it is impractical and really uncomfortable to wear trousers – we are not boys and we want to wear skirts.’

Mum-of-two Janet Thomson commented: ‘I can’t see what the problem is. This has been going on for years even when I was a teenager. These are not primary school girls – they are becoming young women and should be allowed to wear skirts.

‘I agree there is a point where it becomes inappropriate but to ban skirts altogether is little draconian to say the least.’