Stoke Newington School ‘bans coats’ in the middle of winter
Stoke Newington School, which unions claim could lose up to 38 teachers over the next four years due to funding cuts. - Credit: Archant
At least one student has been excluded from Stoke Newington School thanks to a bizarre ban on coats.
Students are not allowed to wear coats inside the building, but the school doesn’t provide pegs or lockers to keep them in.
This means kids at the school in Clissold Road must remove their coats after they enter the school gates, and carry them throughout the day.
The policy has led to some children refusing to wear their coats to school despite the cold weather, because they don’t want to go to the trouble of carrying them around or risk losing them.
The Gazette understands one boy was excluded from the school for two days because he failed to adhere to the policy.
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Some parents have complained to the school about the decision, made by new headteacher Zehra Jaffer, including Emilia Abreu.
“Everyone has a cold because they are 15 years old,” she told the Gazette.
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“If they say ‘you can’t come in for two days’ because they say you can’t wear coats, it just shows they don’t really care about the education of our children.
“The new rule puts my granddaughter off wearing her coat to school and with this cold weather she only wears a cardigan with a t-shirt underneath.
“I am very upset. I am shouting to my granddaughter: ‘You must wear the coat.’
“I have offered to take the coat to the school gates and take it home again and bring it back after school, but what 15-year-old wants that?
“Some kids are wicked and they will make other children feel embarrassed, saying: ‘Look, the grandmother brings the coat and takes the coat.’”
A spokesperson for the school said: “I am to sorry to hear of parents’ concern but this rule is part of our school uniform policy and students are expected to adhere to it at all times.”
What do you think? E-mail gazette.letters@archant.co.uk.
