PARENTS of children who attend a primary school in Wirral have called out the “unfair” decision of scrapping summer dresses from the school uniform.

Mendell Primary School based on Allport Lane in Bromborough changed their school’s uniform policy meaning pupils wanting to wear a summer school dress during the warmer months of term would not be allowed to.

The school have said the reason for the changes were to avoid additional costs, but some parents have called the views misrepresentative and feel the rules don’t reflect their feelings.

A concerned parent, who didn't want to be named, said: “The uniform at Mendell was recently changed to limit summer options for females in the school.

Summer dresses are now not a part of school uniform.

“The reason they have given was down to cost for parents. However, this doesn't reflect the feelings of the parents who buy the uniforms for their children.

“Parents who send their children in in summer dresses are met with private messages from the head teacher stating that it's not a part of school uniform.”

The parent added that she worries about students feeling “uncomfortable” in school if they are unable to wear “cooler” items of clothing.

She added: “We all feel that with the warm weather coming in the summer months, it's important for the children to feel comfortable in school, and shirts, ties, trousers, skirts and jumpers just simply isn't comfortable.

“As long as they're in school colours and look tidy and respectable, we feel the children should be able to wear something that allows them to express themselves and feel comfortable as well as being cool.

“Summer dresses have been a part of school uniform in every school I have dealt with from being a child and there has never been an issue.

“Summer dresses on many occasions are cheaper than buying shirts, ties, and skirts for the girls.

“I feel that this is comparable to not allowing boys to wear shorts in the summer.”

A petition has been set up by concerned parents asking the school to “seek the views of all parents” and calls for a parent survey to be conducted to ensure parents are given the “right to be heard”.

A spokesperson for Mednell Primary School said: “We changed our uniform at Mendell Primary School four years ago in 2018 after consulting with parents.

“The reason for changing the uniform was to impact on children’s behaviour; by children looking smarter, they behave smarter.

“This has been successful, and behaviour is very good at Mendell Primary.

“Our children look smart and they like the uniform which consists of long or short sleeve shirts, tie (year 1- year 6) skirts, shorts or trousers.

“We do not believe that children wearing short sleeve shirts and skirts or shorts would be significantly hotter than they would be if wearing a summer dress. However, they do look significantly smarter. 

“We do listen to feedback from parents and one parent has approached the Head Teacher to request that the school re-considers its stance on summer dresses, which we will do. However, we cannot guarantee the policy will change as a result.”