A 12-year-old girl has been placed in isolation at her Leicestershire school because her mother says her hips are too wide for the regulation uniform skirt. Shylah Johnson, a Year 8 pupil at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, was removed from classes and sent to the isolation unit after wearing a plain black skirt instead of the required pleated one.
Mother Daisy Johnson says she has spent hundreds of pounds trying to find a pleated skirt that fits her daughter, who has a small waist but wide hips. She has tried skirts from Marks & Spencer, New Look, Next, Matalan, and Primark, but none fit properly. The family says they had no choice but to send Shylah to school in a non-pleated black skirt.
Daisy said: 'She has missed two tests already this week because she can't be in full-time education, all because her skirt doesn't have pleats in it. She's being discriminated against because she doesn't have a body shape for their uniform policy.'
Headteacher Will Teece said the school has offered to tailor a skirt to fit Shylah and has provided the family with a skirt, but they have not been able to reach a compromise. He stated: 'We've got 1,500 other students who have not had any issues with their uniform. We'd like nothing more than to get the student back into full-time education, and we feel we have offered more than enough options.'
The school maintains that allowing Shylah to wear a non-regulation skirt would set a precedent. Daisy argues that other students who break the uniform policy willingly should be punished, but Shylah has no other option due to her body shape.
