Brune Park Community School in Gosport, Hampshire, seemingly noticed that their older pupils were using “hoodies” as a method to hide their identities from other pupils and staff members. They subsequently claimed that younger students were being intimidated.
The schools deputy head teacher, Michael Jones, became worried and consequently banned hoodies from being worn in school. The policy which has been launched this term was, he said, aimed at reducing the “negative impression” created by the clothing. He further commented that, “when you have large 15 and 16 year olds wandering around in hoodies it can be quite intimidating, particularly for younger pupils. Some of these hoodies also have inappropriate images such as cannabis plants which creates the wrong impression. When hoods are up it can become difficult to identify students which can be an issue if an incident has occurred.”
Students have criticised the revamped rules by stating, amongst other comments, that the school had created a “dictatorship”. One Year 9 pupil, Ruben Sekules, commented to reporters, “I do not see a problem with pupils wearing hoodies and it wouldn’t affect how I work. One teacher said it was because … they make it difficult to identify people.”
In response the school defended the policy by expressing their belief that it will, “help prepare young people for later life”.
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