Worcester students reject toilet mirrors after posters row

Posters were displayed at Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester

Students say they do not feel they need mirrors in a girls' toilets, a school says, after posters containing "provocative" messages replaced them.

Following anti-social behaviour in a set of toilets, Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester installed the posters in March.

Head Neil Morris admitted the school made a mistake in putting them up and they were removed.

But he added the student council had voted not to restore the mirrors.

Mr Morris stated: "We removed the mirrors, we removed one external door in a toilet and from that time we've got students who are feeling it is [a] better use of the toilets."

Asked why mirrors were removed, he said older students in particular were waiting for friends while youngsters were blocking the toilets and "using them just to make sure they looked the right appearance".

'Proper debate'

In March, the head teacher said a member of staff put "some provocative posters up".

According to images posted on social media some of the quotes included "beauty is nothing without brains" and "make-up is a harmful drug".

At the time, one parent said images of the posters "circulated very quickly" on social media and their wording made many parents "quite angry".

Asked this week why messages were put up, Mr Morris replied "hindsight being the greatest thing, I think that was a mistake".

He said the member of staff was trying "to have a proper debate, which they did do" but posters were removed after "about half an hour or so".

The head stated: "I think if you're gonna put them up, you put them in girls and boys toilets, because actually it's an assumption that only girls wear makeup.

"I think the anger actually... was about some of the messages. They felt probably correctly I think, some of the students, these were pretty poor old-fashioned messages."