Students at a public school to protest against a formal uniform being enforced five days a week

A Brisbane school principal wants students to start wearing the formal uniform five days a week and parents are not happy, with a survey showing more than 85 per cent are against the move despite it providing a $60,000 windfall for the P & C.

STUDENTS at a Brisbane public school have planned a “day of dissent” to protest against the uniform code being strictly enforced by a recently appointed principal.

Hundreds of Kenmore State High School pupils will wear their sports uniform, and not their formal uniform, on Monday week in act of defiance against executive principal Paul Robertson.

Kenmore State High School principal Paul Robertson's uniform policy has not been universally embraced by parents. Picture: Achper Australia

The protest follows a student facing suspension after he failed to attend detention which was given to him for wearing generic white socks and not school-approved ones that cost $10 a pair.

After more than a decade of allowing to choose between the formal and sports uniforms, Mr Robertson, who was formally appointed principal this year, has told parents the formal uniform must be worn every day in 2020.

P & C vice-president Michael Sheehan said there had been a huge amount of pushback and an online survey showed more than 85 per cent of parents and guardians were against it.

“The uniform policy has not been enforced in the 12 years it has been “approved”,” Mr Sheehan said.

“Custom and practice, accepted as the default policy sees over 80 per cent of our students, supported by parents and the community choose to learn wearing the sports uniform.”

Kenmore State High School P & C vice president Michael Sheehan said more than 80 per cent of students were against the formal uniform being enforced five days a week in 2020. Picture: Darren Cartwright

The change to enforcing the uniform code started this year with Year 8-12 students made to wear the formal outfit on Mondays while Year 7 students had to wear it all week.

Documents seen by The Courier-Mail show that uniform sales jumped 57 per cent from $85,053 in 2018 to $134,113 on the back of the formal uniform policy change.

Mr Sheehan said school’s uniform shop sales would most increase likely be four times that if the formal outfit was worn five days a week by all students.

“There was such a backlash against this earlier this year there was a uniform subcommittee formed,” Mr Sheehan said.

“The uniform shop is run by the school P & C and the change in policy for grade seven and one day a week for the rest of the school resulted in about a $60,000 increase in spend.

“If we move to five day compliance there is going to be a couple of hundred thousand dollars extra spent by parents that hasn’t been spent previously.”

Uniform sales jumped 57 per cent from $85,000 in 2018 to more than $134,000 this year on the back of the formal uniform code being enforced on Year 7 students as well as Year 8-12 having to wear it on Mondays. Picture: Darren Cartwright

Parent Cathryn Warburton was also firmly against a formal uniform policy but for different reasons.

She said the formal uniform will seriously disadvantage her daughter who has autism and suffers severe sensory reactions.

The relaxed uniform policy was the reason she placed her daughter at the school because the formal attire “feels like sandpaper’ on her, she said.

“Before we chose Kenmore State High, we sent a two page questionnaire to several schools about uniform policy and that’s we chose here,” Ms Warburton said.

“Now they have formal wear on Mondays, I have to drive her to school because she reacts if she is on bus with the other students.”

Parent Cathryn Warburton said if Kenmore State High School enforce the formal uniform five days a week in 2020 it will disadvantage her child who has autism. Picture: Darren Cartwright

Ms Warburton said her daughter is now the odd one out on Monday’s when she wears the sports uniform and it will cause more distress next year if the policy is not reviewed.

An Education Department spokesman said the school had extended the opportunity for families to provide feedback and suggestions about the uniform and policy.

“The school will take all appropriate feedback on board and provide communication about the outcome in the near future,” the spokesman said.

“A school-convened working party chaired by an independent consultant with representation from students, staff and parents is reviewing the current school uniform including the school socks. This has been communicated to parents.”

The department did not respond to questions about if Mr Robertson believed he has the support of the majority of parents or whether he would review the uniform policy.

The department also did not respond to whether all students who defy the uniform policy during the protest be given detention.