Boston parents pull children out of school over uniform issues

Despite the shoes being labelled as school shoes when they were bought, according to Alex’s parents, she was told to remove them and given a replacement pair to wear, which were too small.

When she was pulled to the side regarding her shoes, Alex said she “felt really self-conscious”, and has lost the excitement she first felt in joining the school.

Steve, Alex’s father, said: “It’s the soles apparently which are wrong. You walk on the soles – you never see them. So I don’t understand why that is a problem.”

He added that they had received a phone call saying the shoes were inappropriate, along with information about how to get financial help to buy new ones.

“We don’t think it’s right [to have] to buy new shoes,” Steve said.

“We weren’t the only parents there having the same problem, taking their children out. It’s happening for shoes, trousers, hair.”

He said the school was “nit-picking” and that parents “pay out a lot of money for these clothes”, and he had spent about £200 on uniform for his two daughters.

“They can’t expect us to go out and spend another £30 on shoes just for the sake of it,” he added.

Alex was kept off school by her parents on Monday over the issue.

Steve said: “It’s a horrible start to be taken out of school because they won’t let her wear the shoes we bought. She’s missing out on making friends and starting new classes.”