A UK secondary school put more than 40 pupils in isolation because they turned up with the wrong stationery.
Parents say their children were removed from classes at Magna Academy for infringements including having a ruler that was 10cm too short, bringing a folding ruler instead of a straight one, having a pencil case shorter than the regulation 30cm and failing to pack a pair of compasses.
Some 48 pupils were left reading in the canteen after Monday morning's crackdown, while they waited for their parents to bring in the correct kit.
The principal of the school - which teaches more than 600 pupils in Poole, Dorset - has defended the measures, saying the right equipment is 'vital' for children's progress. But he is facing a backlash from parents, one of whom has written to the academy to complain.
Hannah Sills, whose Year 8 daughter was taken out of class, said: 'Instead of doing history and double science, my daughter was sitting in the canteen. They have lost 100 hours of education by taking those children out, all because they feel they need to instill this fear culture. I will not have my daughter almost fearful to go to school, which is why I have complained.'
