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Boys at a British high school have found a novel way around strict uniform rules banning shorts, as the country swelters through a heatwave.
Male students at Isca Academy in the south-western city of Exeter donned skirts instead of the officially mandated grey slacks.
Photos in British media show the boys wearing short-sleeved white shirts, school ties and the grey and white plaid skirts the female students wear.
Devon County Council spokesman David Beasley said about 30 boys turned up to school in skirts on Thursday (local time). None of the skirted students was punished, he said.
"They [female students] are allowed to wear skirts all year round, they get cold legs and we have to sit there sweating," one of the school boys said.
A parent of one of the boys who participated said she supported her son's protest.
"My son personally is coming home very, very hot … and he's struggling at school and he's quite irritable and stuff like that," Julia said.
"It's brilliant to protest and say, 'OK then, if we are not allowed to wear that, then we will wear skirts'. Good on 'em."
The school's principal, Aimee Mitchell, issued a written statement that did not mention the skirts, but pledged to revisit the uniform rules.
"We recognise that the last few days have been exceptionally hot and we are doing our utmost to enable both students and staff to remain as comfortable as possible," she wrote.
"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.
"However, with hotter weather becoming more normal, I would be happy to consider a change for the future," she added.
The British students were not alone in challenging dress codes as a way of cooling down.
In the western French city of Nantes, male bus drivers reportedly wore skirts this week that are part of female drivers' uniform to protest about not being allowed to wear shorts.
AP
Topics: education, youth, united-kingdom
First posted