WITH the sweltering heat over the last week, calls are being made by parents in Okehampton for boys to be allowed to wear shorts to school.

An online petition is already gathering pace and within just five hours of going live has gathered 148 signatures.

Mum Katie Munt started the petition to have the school uniform policy changed at Okehampton College after receiving a phone call from the school yesterday (Tuesday) saying her son was was feeling unwell due to the heat.

She said: ‘I have no other grievances with the college, they’re wonderful. However, I find this attitude towards the uniform practically medieval!

‘I had a phone call from them yesterday while I was at work to say Jake was feeling unwell due to the heat, I suggested to him later that he wear shorts and that’s when I was told about their uniform policy.

‘Apparently it’s been that way for years. Students have protested over this for the last 15 years or more. My son has told me that some of the boys at the school were even planning to protest against it by wearing skirts to school.

‘I just find it mind-boggling that in a society that is so genned up about the safety of our pets in this kind of heat, it’s still acceptable to allow our children to potentially suffer from heat stroke related problems due to a uniform policy. Surely they have a duty of care towards their students within school hours?’

Katie and other parents — including Sarah Wilby, Wendy Shout and Pauline Luke — argue if girls can wear skirts then boys should be allowed to wear shorts in periods of hot weather.

Sarah Wilby wrote on the petition: ‘I’m signing because it is unfair that girls get two options to choose from, either trousers or skirts, whereas boys do not get that option. Also it’s ridiculous they are not allowed to wear shorts in extreme hot temperatures.’

In response, Derrick Brett, head teacher at Okehampton College, said: ‘We recognise that the weather conditions over the last few days have been exceptional and we have been monitoring the weather forecast accordingly. It looks as if the weather is due to break on Thursday (June 22) so we have decided that we will not make a knee jerk decision to any changes in school uniform over such a short period of time. 

‘However, we have experienced similar short spells of exceptionally warm weather over the last couple of years and we have been discussing possible changes to the school uniform to address this. We will come to these changes in a timely fashion and keep students and parents informed in the meantime we thank the students for their understanding.’To view the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/okehampton-college-allow-the-boys-of-okehampton-college-to-wear-shorts?recruiter=217006181&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition