Sweltering schoolboys defy ‘no shorts’ rule, wear skirts to class instead

Schoolboys unhappy with their school’s ‘no shorts’ policy have registered their protest in a novel way – by wearing skirts to beat the hot weather.

Dozens of pupils from Isca Academy in Exeter became involved in the bizarre demonstration after the school’s principal ruled that students would not be allowed wear shorts despite Britain being in the grips of a heatwave.

A handful of pupils protested Wednesday, borrowing skirts from friends and sisters. By Thursday, the idea had gone viral and scores of boys showed up to school having ditched their long trousers in favor of the tartan skirt which forms part of the official girls uniform.

“My 14-year-old son wanted to wear shorts. The headteacher told them: ‘Well, you can wear a skirt if you like’ – but I think she was being sarcastic,” one mother explained to local news site DevonLive.

“However, children tend to take you literally, and because she told them it was OK, there was nothing she could do as long as they are school skirts.”

One of the boys who wore a skirt Wednesday was told that it was too short and his legs were too hairy. Not to be deterred, some of the boys shaved their legs before school Thursday.

Headteacher Miss Aimee Mitchell said the school is considering revising their uniform policy.

"Shorts are not currently part of our uniform for boys and I would not want to make any changes without consulting both students and their families,” she said in a statement on the school website.

“However, with hotter weather becoming more normal, I would be happy to consider a change for the future.”

This isn’t the first time schoolboys in Britain have hit back at a shorts ban by donning skirts. Last July, pupils from Longhill High School near Brighton adopted the same peaceful protest as trousers became unbearable in oppressively hot temperatures.

READ MORE: Brighton schoolboys protest shorts uniform ban by showing up in skirts