Parents claim children are checked for what colour of pants and bras they wear

A top Hampshire school is at the centre of a uniform row over pupils’ underwear. Furious parents say their children are being told what colour pants and bras to wear as part of strict new rules introduced at Kings School in Winchester.

Some suggested that members of staff were even checking to see if pupils were complying – a claim strongly denied by the school.

Teachers have dismissed claims they have introduced a new policy governing underwear, saying they simply gave pupils guidance on what was appropriate to wear However, parents have branded the move ridiculous and say dictating what underwear youngsters must wear is intrusive.

They say boys have been told they can only wear white or black underpants, and if their pants are showing above their trousers, as is the current fashion, they will be asked to put a belt on. Meanwhile girls have been told they should only wear white, unpadded bras underneath blouses.

“I think it’s disgraceful, I just don’t understand a lot of what Kings’ do,” said Leanne Hosking, who has three children aged 14, 13 and 11 – at the Romsey Road site. “The things that should be priority are not, it’s the petty things that they concentrate on. It causes a lot of problems, especially with my older girl. She does not like male teachers turning her around and checking her bra.”

Another parent, Stuart Gander, who has a 15-year-old and 13-year-old daughter at the school, said: “The children feel it’s slightly intrusive if they’re asked to show they’re bra straps so teachers can see what colour it is. I would not do that to someone in my workplace.”