Parents are up in arms after a high school announced its decision to ban knee socks for girls.

Some have claimed the decision came after a teacher likened pupils wearing knee socks to “prostitutes”.

An end of term letter sent out to parents of children attending Burnley High School stated that from the start of the new term, on September 5, knee socks would no longer be part of the uniform for pupils who choose to wear skirts.

Girls will now have to wear tights with their skirts rather than knee-high socks.

However, the high school, which is run by the Education Partnership Trust, has said the reason behind the change is to help parents with the cost of living.

The end of term letter read: “Following government guidelines, we have reviewed our uniform policy this academic year to ensure it is as cost effective as possible for parents.

“This involved us arranging a provision of second-hand uniform which we can make available for purchase if needed.

“The uniform has remained unchanged since we first opened as a school, but our governors have agreed to change two aspects of the uniform policy to help with rising costs.

“These are allowing black OR purple socks for PE to help with costs, and black tights (minimum 50 denier) only with skirts.

“Knee socks are no longer part of our school uniform.

“This will mean uniform is more cost effective, as school can provide tights where needed at a cheaper cost than socks.

“We are always willing to help and work collaboratively with our families, so if you need support, please do not hesitate to contact us on talktomyheadofyear@burnleyhigh.com.

“Our in-house uniform store is available for short term loan of uniform to support our families, but I must stress that this is short-term only.”

The school justified the alterations to the uniform policy by saying tights would be more “cost effective” for parents.

However, some parents have kicked up a fuss, saying the uniform change “makes no sense” and have even accused certain teachers of being responsible for the alteration.

One parent, who did not wish to be named, said: “It makes no sense and does not help with cost at all.

“Tights ladder very easily, also especially in warm weather, every girl will be suffering with thrush.”

Another parent suggested the decision to change the uniform was because a teacher had made a comment about schoolgirls “looking like prostitutes wearing skirts and knee-high socks”.

The parent said: “The school tried to implement this last year, but parents were not happy, as they found out it was because one of the teachers said the girls looked like prostitutes with skirts and knee-high socks.

“We were outraged and said the school should not be implementing a no socks policy, but actually asking why a teacher automatically sees prostitutes when looking at schoolgirls.”

The allegations that a teacher referred to any of the schoolgirls as “prostitutes” is unfounded and has not been confirmed or denied by the school itself.

Burnley High School and the Education Partnership Trust, which runs the Byron Street School, have been contacted for comment via email and phone, but failed to respond before deadline.

Nearby schools such as Blessed Trinity, Coal Clough Academy, Hyndburn Academy and Rhyddings High School all allow pupils to wear either socks or tights with school skirts.

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