Dear Parents and Carers

I am writing with regard to some changes to the College uniform which we will be implementing from September 2019 for all years, including Year 11.

For several years now the College has attempted to have a uniform which allowed students choice about the skirts and trousers they could wear. Unfortunately, during this time, while some students have continued to wear appropriate skirts and trousers, others, often despite the best endeavours of their parents and carers as well as staff, have chosen to continually wear skirts and trousers which are not appropriate for school. This has led to feelings of unfairness for some students, pressure to wear increasingly short skirts for some girls and arguments with parents and carers about which skirts or trousers are fashionable in preparation for the school restarting every September.

Last year we piloted grey skirts and trousers for Year 7 students. The feedback from this has been largely positive although there have been some issues of quality which we have reported back directly to the manufacturer Banner who, in turn, promised to replace any trousers or skirts that had split. Most quality issues seemed to relate to the pencil skirt and this garment also had issues around the length of skirt that was available to girls particularly if they happened to be tall.

Following discussions with students, parents and Governors we have therefore decided to change our uniform from September 2019 to alleviate these concerns around quality, length and consistency by implementing a uniform policy which requires students to wear either a Banner Designer pleated skirt or Banner Signature trousers; Contemporary or Classic fit. These items are available from either of our suppliers or equally can be obtained from any other supplier or directly from the internet. The cost of these garments will be in line with the cost of these garments previously and we have received assurances about the quality of these garments.

We will only be allowing a skirt length of 22 inches which should sit on or just below the knee. If your child’s height requires a skirt outside of this length then our suppliers will be pleased to order in a longer or shorter length so that the skirt will still sit on or just below the knee. However, they will record your child’s name so that we can check with them that it was appropriate to buy a different length.  In addition, trousers must be long enough to reach your child’s shoe so that socks aren’t visible. All garments must be bought in the appropriate size for your child.

The unique codes for each of these garments are:
Signature boys steel grey Classic trousers - AAAA112278
Signature boys steel grey Contemporary trousers - AAAA112286
Signature girls steel grey Classic trousers - AAAA112277
Signature girls steel grey Contemporary trousers - AAAA112276
22 inch Designer pleated skirt steel grey - AAAA112022 (1EA)

We believe that this slight change to our uniform policy will mean that there is greater consistency and fairness with regard to the uniform that all students are expected to wear and that both students and their parents and carers will feel under less pressure to choose something which is fashionable rather than practical.

We feel it is also very important to note that we have chosen Banner as our manufacturer for not only its durability and value for money, but also because Banner is the only fully school wear approved Sedex member which ensures ethical trading and that their workforce is treated fairly. More information on this important area can be found at:
https://static.banner.co.uk/pdf/ethical_trading.pdf

Obviously, we are letting you know about this slight modification as early as possible in order for you to prepare for this uniform change. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your relevant pastoral team in the first instance. We will be discussing these changes with students in assemblies after Easter.
 
Yours sincerely,

A J Davis
Principal
Exmouth Community College