School forces young girls to study in a class on their own after they wore trousers to school 'because it was cold'

A handful of pupils broke a strict uniform policy which states that girls must wear skirts during the summer.

Scroll down for more...

But furious parents have since removed the girls from the school altogether in protest.

They say the pupils at the Sandon Business and Enterprise School in Stoke-on-Trent wore the trousers because it was cold.

David Anderson's daughter Cara, 11, was one of the girls hauled out of class.

He said: "Cara is just a child, she shouldn't be treated like a little criminal because of this.

"The school has to bring itself out of the Dark Ages."

Cara said: "Being taught in isolation was scary and humiliating. I want to go back to school but we should be given a choice about our uniform."

David King's daughter Kelsey, 12, was also affected.

He said: "Kelsey wore a skirt the other day but said she was cold so went in trousers the next day.

"She then called us upset at being put in isolation and we took her straight home.

"Kelsey is normally an A-grade student, she's never in trouble and this is really affecting her, but she's not done anything wrong and I can't see the school's problem.

"She's old enough to make her own choices and we are 100 per cent behind her.

"I hope keeping her home shows how strongly we feel about this."

Claire Craggs took her 13-year-old daughter Annelise out of school after hearing she had been isolated.

She said: "I cannot believe the school is being so pathetic.

"She wears a skirt without tights in summer, but can't wear tights because they rub against a scar on her leg, and it's too cold for bare legs at the moment.

"She says she wasn't given a chance to explain and was upset when she was taken away from her classmates.

"If the weather is bad I will send her in trousers again and see what happens.

"If she is isolated I will take her out of school again."

The inner-city high school's rules state trousers are banned for girls from spring onwards and only exceptions for religious or medical reasons can be made.

Officials at the school were unavailable for comment.

But chairman of governors, Phil Boon, says pupils have been asked to put forward proposals for wearing trousers all year.

Mr Boon said: "We have never ruled out trousers, but if we are to change the rules we want the views of the children on what they deem to be an acceptable trouser.

"We will consider a proposal for trousers."

The issue will be discussed at a governors' meeting in May.

In 2006, a school in St Albans, Hertfordshire, banned skirts and trousers containing Lycra because of fears the figure-hugging material could make the uniform too revealing.

Up to 20 schoolgirls at Nicholas Breakspear School were sent home in the row.