Parents have been left fuming over a secondary school's new uniform policy that they say means girls are being forced to wear 'sexist' and 'unhygienic' attire.
Students at Ashton on Mersey Academy in Trafford have been told that as well as wearing a skirt to school, they must wear 'plain black tights' at all times, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The decision has been blasted by parents of the students, and concerns have been raised that this new policy is 'unhygienic' - especially during the warm weather.
However bosses at the school have said the uniform policy will be relaxed during high temperatures.
Parents were given the information regarding the change, which states skirts must be no shorter than 5cm above the kneecap - and must be worn with plain black tights.
Despite students claiming that they were told the rule was introduced to stop 'girls being sexualised' at school, parents have blasted the rule as' "ridiculous", and are now calling for it to be reversed.
One mum, who has requested to remain anonymous, said she was left disgusted by the change in policy.
She said: "We were told for weeks that no changes were planned, then on the last week of term the changes were confirmed. Personally I think it's sexist and if part of their reasoning is that the boys issues contribute to it then it's the boys who need educating not the girls."
The new policy was discussed on a local community Facebook group and has attracted over 200 comments.
Many local residents and parents expressed their anger about the school's decision there, with one woman writing: "So many reasons why this is so wrong. As someone already stated, female hygiene, yeast infections etc.
"But also, give the girls the mature respect they deserve as young women in high school. Tights is not necessary, it should be a choice as long as you look smart."
"This is absolutely ludicrous," another said.
"Do the female staff have to wear thick black tights also? I would be concerned about intimate health issues this causes and obviously girls will be having their time of the month, which when warm is awfully uncomfortable without the added warmness of tights.
"If this is an issue due to people looking up girls skirts I suggest educating young people on sexual harassment and why looking up skirts is wrong. In my opinion this is not okay."
While a third said: "Are the boys banned from wearing shorts? If it's about sexual harassment then the children need educating about this. Wearing tights won't resolve the issue. Totally sexist and puts blame/shame on the girls which is so wrong."
And one mum wrote: "I'm not happy with it, nor is my daughter. Who pays for the tights? Are the teachers having to wear tights too? Is it actually allowed to put this in place?"
A spokesperson for Ashton On Mersey School said: "The school communicates regularly with parents, carers and pupils. Our uniform policy was relaxed during this summer's high temperatures and the community was informed immediately; this will continue to be the school's approach in future responses to the heat."
