I FOUND that your article on the ‘Miss Sexy’ trousers (September 23) is one that I can easily relate to. I have just started my first year of A-Levels at a college where I travel two hours a day to get there and back.

The reason that I happily put up with the travel is due to the fact that I despised my secondary school. The whole five years I attended that school the staff there seemed to have a problem with my uniform and the way I looked.

For the first two years I was there, I wore the ‘Miss Sexy’ trousers. This never seemed to be an issue until suddenly in Year 9 they were banned. I accepted this and moved onto the new trend in school girls’ fashion which was the short, fitted, mini skirts from H&M which were both comfortable and affordable. Although I wore mine at a respectable length, many girls wore theirs very short. However, throughout the whole of Year 9 and 10 they tried to get people to stop wearing them but did not succeed. Until Year 11 when I walked in on my first day back and was immediately told to go to Heads of Year and change them.

I was given a pair of old trousers from Lost Property which were two sizes too small for me and I was expected to wear them.

After that my mother spent about £30-£40 on new school skirts just to find that more than half of the girls in my school were still walking around in the original H&M mini skirts for the rest of the school year. Throughout my whole time there I was constantly being told to take off nail varnish, take out ear piercings and wear less makeup which I couldn’t understand as none of these affected my education in any way, and just ended up wasting time where I could be learning.

I feel that schools today focus primarily on students’ uniform and how they look, making sure they don’t “ruin the reputation of the school”.

I felt that uniform was prioritised over education at my school, which seems absurd to me as the whole purpose of school is to educate people. How are students expected to express themselves if they are criticised so closely on how they dress? I think that the education system needs to get their priorities straight and let students focus on their learning rather than looking perfect 24/7.

Chloe Bush, Foxfield Court, Chipping Norton

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