Parent uproar continues over The Gap State High School shoe policy

THE uproar over a Brisbane school’s strict shoe policy has continued, with a parent of a pupil claiming the opportunity to educate children is being missed at the expense of policing the type of footwear students are sporting.

• Principal wins support for hard line on school shoes
• School shoe rules at The Gap State School ‘too restrictive’

UPROAR continues among parents of a Brisbane high school following a spree of detentions for students wearing incorrect footwear.

The Gap State High School has knuckled down on students defying the uniform policy by wearing certain styled shoes and improper heel heights which were banned.

Queensland Teachers Union President Kevin Bates confirmed on Monday more than 100 students received detention for breaching the uniform code.

While some parents have shown fierce support for Principal Anne McLauchlan, other parents remain divided about the uniform crackdown.

Gap mother Allison Slatter is one of many parents who expressed her irritation with the school.

A student at The Gap High accentuates his footwear yesterday. Picture: Peter Wallis

“We have never had an issue with shoes in all the eight years my children have been at The Gap,” she said.

“There seems to be quite a debate going on with people insisting that children should comply as when in the work place they have strict uniform polices.

“I am a professional working in a major hospital and I can assure you that no one is looking at my shoes.

“As long as I am clean and well-presented and work hard.

“I chose a public school as it had a good reputation for results, not because their uniforms were neat and shoe policy was exceptional.”

Ms Slatter also claimed her children sat among 450 others in detention for incorrect shoes and had to wait about 45 minutes the next day for a uniform pass.

“I would prefer they were spending that time organising themselves for class,” she told The Courier-Mail.

The Gap State High made news after giving multiple students detention after a uniform inspection.

She also said the strict uniform policy had never been a problem in the past.

“The old principal spent his time getting to know the students instead of standing out the front of the school telling students what infringements they will incur if something is not done.

“My children are being punished, not educated.

“They are being denied the education they are attending school for because of my financial inability to afford the ‘correct’ shoes.”