Ashby School isolates 120 pupils over 'wrong shoes'

Ashby School has about 1,700 students aged between 14 and 18

More than 100 students were removed from class on the first day of the new school year after their shoes were deemed unacceptable.

Ashby School, in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, took action against students wearing footwear that did not adhere to its latest rules.

The school confirmed about 120 pupils were dealt with but all uniform issues had now been resolved.

It said parents had been given full guidance on the new restrictions.

The school gave parents a visual guide to the latest shoe rules before the start of the new academic year

A revamp of the school's uniform policy for the new academic year was announced before the summer break.

Parents were issued with visual guides and told: "Shoes should be leather or leather look and must be a traditional shoe that can be polished.

"Canvas shoes, trainers or trainer-style shoes and boots are not acceptable."

Several parents complained online about the way the school handled the situation

However, some parents said they were unhappy pupils whose shoes did not comply were pulled from their normal classes.

Louisa Ingram, who said her son's shoes had been deemed smart enough the previous year, said: "I have no problem with the uniform. I have a problem that a mistake the parents made has affected the students' learning for a whole day.

"My son had done nothing wrong. He had the same uniform and shoes on as last year."

• Latest news and stories from the East Midlands

Another mother, who asked not to be named, said: "A simple warning to parents that uniform issues needed to be corrected would have sufficed.

"The majority were minor issues, such as wearing suede rather than 'polishable leather', the wrong shape shoe, the same shoes worn the year prior, and in some cases, items given the go-ahead by one teacher, yet not another."

However, other parents online applauded the school for enforcing the rules strongly.

The school said students were allowed to return to normal lessons once their shoes had been changed "which, in most cases, was very quickly".

Headteacher Geoff Staniforth said: "Guidelines on appropriate footwear were circulated to parents during the summer term and further information, including images of appropriate footwear, was also published on the school website.

"The first term is now well under way and we hope that all students will continue to wear their new smarter uniforms with pride."