Banbury's Warriner School to hold student council meeting over uniform row

Teachers and staff at The Warriner School in Bloxham will hold a student council meeting tomorrow (Friday March 3) to resolve the ongoing row over planned changes to the uniform policy.
By Jack Ingham
Published 2nd Mar 2023, 10:08 BST
Updated 2nd Mar 2023, 10:08 BST
The Warriner School hope that staff and students will reach a compromise over uniform policy at this Friday's planned student council meeting.The Warriner School hope that staff and students will reach a compromise over uniform policy at this Friday's planned student council meeting.
The Warriner School hope that staff and students will reach a compromise over uniform policy at this Friday's planned student council meeting.

The row furiously erupted last Friday (February 24) when much of the student body, outraged at the school's decision to place an outright ban on the wearing of skirts from September, organised large protests and refused to attend classes.

Footage circulated online of large groups of students standing on tables chanting "save our skirts" during the morning hours of Friday before the school made the decision to call the police and close the school for the day.

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The school hopes that Friday’s student council meeting will bring about some kind of compromise on the contentious issue. In a letter sent to parents last Sunday (February 26), executive headteacher Dr Annabel Kay said: "We acknowledge that we underestimated the strength of feeling on this issue around uniform. We recognise that had not properly engaged or consulted with all parents and students. We have listened to the voices of our young people and will continue to do so in the coming weeks in a constructive way.

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"To start this process, we have brought the planned student council meeting forward to Friday and will be encouraging all students to share their thoughts with the representative prior to this meeting. We will work with the student council to agree the consultation process and will keep you informed of progress. We will also ensure that your voice is heard as part of this."

The school has reportedly been tense all of this week and has hired extra security as well as suspending a number of students for their actions during the protests. The school has not responded to our request for further information on this.

A student from the Warriner who wished to remain anonymous said: "The school has been a little on edge. They keep talking about rebuilding relationships with teachers after the protest. The school has also gotten rid of all the picnic benches it had, and there has been a lot of talk about the negative aspects of the protest. The security guards haven’t made me feel any particular way, but I do feel they are unnecessary."

Related topics:TeachersBanburyBloxham