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Highgate School considering ‘gender neutral’ uniforms as students question identity
Adam Pettitt, headteacher of Highgate School, is considering the idea of 'gender neutral' uniforms. - Credit: Archant
Highgate School is considering bringing in ‘gender neutral’ uniforms in response to students questioning their identity.
Highgate School. Picture by Google Street View. - Credit: Archant
As part of the plans – which have been prompted by the growing number of young people looking to change gender – male students at the co-educational private school could be allowed to wear skirts.
Currently, girls at the North Road senior school have the option to wear a blazer, charcoal grey trousers or a similarly coloured pleated skirt.
Boys between years seven to 11 are also required to wear a blazer and trousers, while they are not permitted jewellery or makeup and have to wait until they are 16 to wear piercings.
Headteacher Adam Pettitt told the Sunday Times: “This generation is really questioning if we are being binary in the way we look at things.”
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However Mr Petitt also said that some former pupils have said that they are not on board with potential changes.
He added: “They write in and say if you left children to their own devices they would grow up differently and you are promoting the wrong ideas.”
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According to the newspaper, equality groups have been set up by pupils pushing for gender-neutral lavatories, for all sports to be open to all pupils and for a ban on words and phrases such as “ladylike” and “man up”.
Parents will be consulted before any decision is taken.
What do you think about the idea of ‘gender neutral’ uniforms? E-mail your thoughts to education editor James Scott at james.scott@archant.co.uk.
