Girls sent home from school for wearing skirts that were too short

A headteacher has defended enforcing her school's uniform policy by sending home teenage girls whose skirts are too high.

Parents complained after Alison Colwell turned away pupils who failed to obey the uniform policy at Ebbsfleet Academy in Kent. It includes a rule banning skirts that sit more than 5cm above the knee.

Alison Colwell said about 20 pupils were sent home on the first day of term.

One parent wrote on Facebook that her 15-year-old daughter had been turned away for wearing a skirt that she had worn previously to the school.