Fury over the strict new uniform policy at a Welsh high school is being raised with education minister Jeremy Miles. Bridgend councillor Alex Williams said dozens of parents of children at Pencoed Comprehensive have complained to him about a crackdown on uniform compliance and he is writing to the minister raising their concerns including that the school's uniform policy goes against Welsh Government guidelines on gender discrimination.
Parents claim their daughters were given detentions for wearing skirts deemed too short and that staff were checking they were no more than 5cm above the knee. The school has denied any staff measured pupils' skirts but confirmed around 20 children were taken into the school hall and spoken to about wearing the wrong uniform this week.
Cllr Williams, who is an independent councillor for Pencoed and chair of the Bridgend Education Scrutiny Committee, said he would be raising the matter with the education minister. Only last month the Welsh Government announced rules on uniform should be more relaxed to make them cheaper.
Cllr Williams said Pencoed Comprehensive's uniform crackdown has caused anxiety among pupils including some taking GCSEs and A-levels. He has also raised the matter with the school's head teacher Edward Jones and Bridgend's education director Lindsay Harvey.
“I've received dozens of messages from concerned parents and guardians about the implementation of Pencoed Comprehensive School's new uniform policy which was introduced in March 2023," Cllr Williams said. He said he'd been told the head teacher "categorically disputes" claims staff were asked to measure the lengths of skirts to see if they complied with the uniform policy.
