King Solomon High School uniform furore with summer holidays six weeks away
Dr Paul Doherty - Credit: Archant
More than a hundred King Solomon High School girls have been sent home this week after their skirts did not meet uniform requirements enforced by the acting head.
Jo Shuter - the former headteacher at King Solomon High School - Credit: Archant
Last month headteacher Dr Paul Doherty replaced the sacked Jo Shuter after she was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct at Kynaston Community Academy in St John’s Wood.
Experienced headteacher Doherty soon set about enforcing regulations regarding uniform at the school in Forest Road.
The school reminded parents girl’s skirts must only be just above the knee this week via an email on Tuesday (10).
Barry Peters, who has a daughter at the school, believes parents should have been allowed more time to purchase the correct uniforms with the school year finishing on July 25.
He said: “I completely understand why the school want the correct school uniform but it has been completely bad timing on the school’s part.”
Mr Peters added he is in touch with the school’s governors about whether enough time was given to parents to buy a new school uniform.
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The Ilford Recorder contacted all three of the school’s uniform suppliers - Unistat, in High Street, Ilford, Lucilla, in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, and Carolina, in Chigwell Road, Woodford Green.
All three stores admitted to being low on stock or out of girl’s skirts altogether.
Masud Mahmud, store manager at Unistat, said: “People are panic buying. The school did not inform us.
“People just came in through the door and kept coming in and coming in just like it was the summer holidays.”
However, not all parents are against the school’s decision.
“I am very impressed with the stricter rules on uniform and totally support Dr Doherty and the newly appointed management team at King Solomon High School,” said one Ilford mother, who did not wish to be named, before adding: “This has been the rule at King Solomon High School for many years and I am pleased to see it being implemented.”
Dr Doherty responded by pointing to studies which link good behaviour and wearing the correct uniform.
He said: “There are studies which link serious violations of uniform to retribution in lessons.
“Unus Form is latin for one form or one kind. You cannot have a uniform where someone is wearing red shoes but someone else is in black shoes.”
