Parents who were battling with one of the region’s best-known schools over a ‘U-turn’ on uniforms have now thanked the head teacher for listening to their pleas.
Tadcaster Grammar School, which has 1,500 pupils aged 11-18 – including many from the western part of York – had introduced a new school uniform.
When it was first mooted in 2019 parents said they were told the uniform would only be compulsory for the year seven students. Years above that could choose which uniform they wanted to wear.
“At that point, we asked our children what they wanted,” Emma Blackstone, who has a son in Year 10, told David Dunning on the YorkMix Radio Late Show.
“Many of them said they wanted to stay in the old legacy uniform. So the parents then went and purchased that uniform to secure that for the remainder of their child’s time.”
A year later “Tadcaster then informed us actually the uniform will be compulsory for all students, regardless of year group, from September 2021.
“So essentially they were removing the choice that they gave to their students back in 2019, and forcing parents to basically buy twice in terms of the school uniform.”
The school has listened
However this decision has now been changed again and the parents are delighted with the move and say they are very grateful to the head teacher at Tadcaster Grammar School, Andrew Parkinson who made the move.
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Within the last seven days, the protest had grown from a group of about ten to around 120 parents. Emma Blackstone said they all had very strong feelings, and their children all felt the same way.
A new uniform, including blazer, two shirts, jumper, Year 11 tie, and trousers or skirt costs nearly £90.
Emma said they put their objections in an email to the headteacher.
“And the response came back to us on Wednesday, that the head of the school doesn’t accept that our approach is reasonable. The school doesn’t accept that it’s a major issue for parents or indeed for the young people.”
They escalated the issue to the school board of governors and a meeting was planned but now that won’t need to go ahead now.
YorkMix has asked the school if they would like to speak about the issue and the head teacher said he had no further comment to make.