A school has said boys who find trousers too hot in the summer months should instead wear a skirt as part of a "gender-neutral" uniform policy.
Chiltern Edge Secondary School in Oxfordshire in the UK has banned boys from wearing shorts and insists those who don't want to wear trousers must don a skirt, reports the Daily Mail.
Leaders at the school in Sonning Common introduced a "more formal" uniform policy at the beginning of the academic year that stipulated that the only leg wear permitted was trousers or skirts.
After the change, parent Alastair Vince-Porteous asked staff if his son could wear tailored shorts – but the school said that they were not part of the uniform. The bemused father was then told that the uniform policy was "gender-neutral" and boys could of course wear a skirt if they wished.
The move follows a trend for schools adopting gender-neutral policies to help transgender pupils feel more welcome. Many schools now say skirts and trousers can be worn by either gender. Under the UK's Equality Act, schools have a duty to protect transgender students from discrimination.