Pupils sent home from school on first day after half term due to 'wrong footwear'
Pupils at a Much Wenlock school found the first day after the half term break tougher than they expected after they fell foul of a uniform policy.
Pupils were sent home from William Brookes School on Monday for wearing the wrong kind of footwear - some girls were also sent home because their skirts didn't cover their knees.
The ones with a footwear breech included Leyton Whitfield, aged 13, who was sent home for wearing 'trainer style shoes with logos' rather than school-issue shoes.
Leyton, who has been diagnosed as suffering from anxiety and depression, was still off school on Tuesday as his mother Sam claimed shoes given him to wear by the school on Monday didn't fit him.
She said: "We paid £120 for Leyton's shoes because he needed a size 3.5 and they have been fine since September but now it has been decided they are unacceptable.
"I think it's totally wrong to make children wear cheap pointed shoes that they have to be for over six hours a day. The alternative shoes he was given were size three which is too small.
"He has had problems before with anxiety and depression and we have been to see his doctor this week who said she is very concerned about the situation.
"Apart from that him missing schooling is not going to help matters but he needs to feel comfortable and accepted before he goes back to the school."
Stephen Richards, the headteacher at the school said: "We have been working collectively to embed a culture of high expectations and a sense of belonging at our school. We believe that this begins with having high expectations over uniform.
"There have actually been very few changes brought into our uniform policy this year and we have kept our parents and carers informed about our approach to enforcing our expectations since May.
"Unfortunately some students have not comformed to the expectations communicated to them and their parents or carers and have been sent home from school.
"We have been acutely conscious that this is a difficult time for many and so we have brought a significant amount of uniform to support families who are struggling at this time.
"The approaches we are adopting to establish the culture that all of our students need in order to thrive are not unusual, but are ones that are being used at many schools, both locally and nationally, that are well-known for having excellent behaviour and students with a very positive attitude towards their school."
