- Does YOUR child go to the school? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
Furious parents have gone to war with their children’s school after the headteacher banned them from wearing jumpers until November.
Winston Churchill School in Woking, Surrey, told pupils they would no longer be allowed to wear the woolly covering when they returned from the Easter holiday.
Instead, they have to wear blazers ‘in every situation’ and can only take them off if the weather is hot and they ask ‘politely’.
The blanket ban at the mixed secondary school came into force on April 22 and is in place until the end of October.
But angry parents have been sending their children in wearing jumpers in defiance and sending foul-mouthed emails to the school.
They say the new hardline stance ‘makes no sense’ due to the ‘unpredictable weather, chilly mornings, and the importance of students feeling good’.
A petition has been started to have the jumpers reinstated as it ‘isn’t just about warmth – it’s about comfort, confidence, and school pride’.
The school’s headteacher, Zoe Johnson-Walker, is yet to explain the reason behind the ban but has hit back in an extraordinary scathing letter, seen by MailOnline.
Does YOUR child go to the school? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
In it she thanks the ‘majority’ of parents who have been supporting the policy, before taking aim at the mothers and fathers who are ‘undermining’ her.
Vowing not to back down she wrote: ‘Our school has very clear expectations and we expect everyone to buy into the whole package and not to cherry-pick the rules that suit them and ignore those that don’t,’ she wrote.
‘Parents encouraging their child to break the rules is placing their child in direct conflict with the school and if they are comfortable ignoring this rule then what other rules will each parent and child decide to ignore?’
Children can wear a ‘base layer’ under their shirts as well as any number of tops when they are walking to school.
Mrs Johnson-Walker added her decision making is heavily influenced by having to manage 1,500 children, unlike parents who only have one or two to look after.
She said: ‘I know if I announced students would be wearing PE kit, almost every student would be wearing a polo shirt and shorts regardless of the temperature.
‘Therefore, the rule around the jumper stands and students are expected to wear their blazer every day, in every situation.
‘Staff will give students permission to remove their blazer in lessons if they ask politely, it is necessary for the task or if temperatures are high.’
She goes on to bemoan the ‘challenging’ school budget, difficulty recruiting teachers, before blaming parents for its PTA about to fold due to there being ‘so little support’.
She added: ‘I also take issue with the abusive language used in some communications from parents.
‘No one from our school uses such language towards parents and in future such communications will simply be printed and logged in their student’s file.
‘It would be easy to allow everyone to do what they liked and only follow the rules that they chose but our school would not be a safe or positive place to be.
‘Every parent wants the school they select for their children to have a safe and disciplined approach, and this is reflected in how a uniform is worn.’
Mrs Johnson-Walker ends the astonishing letter with a rallying cry saying ‘we are always here for your child, I need you to now be here for your school’.
MailOnline has contacted Winston Churchill School for comment.
Does YOUR child go to the school? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
