Catholic schoolgirls say strict uniform policy caused them ‘emotional damage’

Students at Victoria’s top girls’ schools have exposed the drastic lengths school “spies” undertook to catch them breaking this “minor” rule.

Former private schoolgirls have blaster their former schools for putting minor uniform misdemeanours ahead of their wellbeing and health.

Girls from some of Melbourne’s most prestigious schools are ranting online about their outdated, restrictive uniform rules.

Rules at schools such as Methodist Ladies’ College, Genazzano, Wesley, Siena College, Haileybury and Huntingtower are under attack from students for putting minor uniform misdemeanours ahead of their wellbeing and health.

Current and former students report getting detentions for wearing the wrong colour hair ribbons, not having their blazers on even in hot weather and having security guards follow them to assess their uniform compliance.

“At my Catholic girls’ school some teachers had a tool to unpick the bottom hem of skirts that were too short,” one said on TikTok.

One student from Genazzano said the policies caused “emotional damage”.

The discussion was prompted by former Melbourne Catholic schoolgirl Claire Champion who said students at her school could not wear makeup, nail polish, jewellery or hair dye.

In a TikTok post that’s had 600,000 views and attracted 98K likes and 3000 comments, Ms Champion said teachers would “literally come around with a makeup wipe and pull it out, you’d have to sit in the middle of class and rub your makeup off”.

Ms Champion said girls would be lined up for staff to assess their uniform compliance including the length of the skirt (which had to rest on the knee) socks and shoes.

“These schools really pride themselves on their appearance and how the students look and present themselves, but is there as much care that goes into dealing with mental illnesses, eating disorders, what about bullying, do the schools care about that?” she said.

The video prompted hundreds of others to tell similar stories.

Girls from private schools such as Toorak College, Lowther Hall, Korowa, Our Lady of Mercy, Santa Maria and Siena College shared their stories of harsh uniform infringements and teachers acting as “spies”.

One from Genazzano agreed with the “emotional damage” caused by such policies. Another from Haileybury said her experience was “exactly the same”.

Current and former students reported getting detentions for not wearing their blazers on hot weather days.

A student from Catholic Ladies’ College Eltham said teachers were put on trains solely to conduct uniform checks.

One girl from Wesley said she was given a detention for not wearing school approved “bloomers” under her netball skirt

Students from public schools such as Kew High, Balwyn High and Wantirna College shared similar tales including a girl from Mentone Girls Secondary who said students were dobbed in by strangers for not having the right uniform on public transport.

Another former Methodist Ladies’ College student, Yasmin, said her school had security guards at school entrances monitoring uniforms.

In a clip that has 89,000 likes and more than 1000 comments, she says the guards would be “literally be waiting at the tram stop picking out the girls that didn’t have their blazer with their jumper or didn’t have their school star on or had a ring on”.

Another former student knownas @thesaucycook said she was sick one day and forced to throw up in front of teachers and students because she was given a detention for not wearing her blazer on the tram. “I understand brand and reputation when it comes to these schools but give it a rest for God’s sake,” she said.