A pupil was ordered to comply with his school’s uniform code by colouring his white trainers black – with a MARKER PEN.
Tyler Hawkins, 15, was hauled out of a lesson when a teacher spotted the white swoosh and soles on his Nike shoes.
The teenager says a teacher then handed him a black marker pen and asked him to “colour in” the black footwear.
Mum Gemma, 38, is so angry she’s thinking about removing Tyler and his 12-year-old sister, as well as her youngest son, who is due to start there in September.
The self-employed cleaner said: “What makes me so annoyed is that he’s been wearing these shoes since September and nobody’s said anything.
“Uniforms cost a lot of money as it is. I’ve got three children and I don’t get any help. It’s annoyed me so much I feel like being a rebel myself and making him buy an orange pair.”
Tyler was pulled out of a lesson and first given an old pair of black plimsolls to wear for the rest of the day despite them being a size too small.
Furious Gemma, of Newquay, Cornwall, sent her lad back the next day in his original footwear along with a note saying he wouldn’t be changing them.
But staff at Newquay Tretherras School came up with an even more drastic solution – and gave him the pen.
The uniform policy at 1,620-pupil secondary school in Newquay, Cornwall, states that children must wear “plain black shoes”.
Gemma insists her children are always neat and tidy and says the school’s uniform policy is petty and “over-the-top”.
She says her kids have previously complained about being made to wear jumpers and blazers in hot weather in the spring despite it being one of the hottest on record.
She added: “These are petty little things that don’t make any difference or get in the way of children’s learning.
“What the school’s doing is encouraging bullying by pointing out all the poor kids who can’t afford to buy new uniforms.”
According to the school’s website, students must wear a white shirt, black trousers or a skirt “of reasonable length”, as well as a tie, V-neck sweatshirt with a badge, plain black school shoes, tights and black, white or grey socks.
Head teacher Sarah Goswell said she was unable to comment directly on the complaint without speaking to the child and parent involved.
But she said she was not aware of any teacher asking children to colour in items of clothing to meet uniform regulations.
Ms Goswell said: “It’s not standard practice, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t happen because I don’t know.
“It’s very rare for us to be pulling students out of lessons. We’ve pulled students out of form time between 8:40am and 9am but it would be very unusual for us to do that.
“Details of the uniform are on our website, and in student planners, and we send out letters to parents on a regular basis. We’re not petty about it, but we want our kids looking smart.
“We’re very keen to keep up the standards of the uniform but we’re very tolerant with it coming up to the end of term. There has to be a bit of give and take and we realise that.”
