Petition Against The British School Personal Appearance Policy

We aren't blindly rebellious youths who seek to demolish school uniform or dispose of all long established rules on clothing; we only wish rules within the British schooling system wouldn't so shamelessly dictate a child’s personal appearance (hair styles, colours, piercings) so that young people can maintain a freedom of expression which should exceed any such restrictions. We feel that school policies on a pupil’s appearance within the UK are outdated and have attached themselves to an aged taboo that is neither relevant or beneficial to the education system. The only valid source from which a child/teenagers appearance should be dictated are their parents/guardians or the pupil themselves.

It is common knowledge that all teenagers go through some sort of identity crisis during their adolescence. Is suppressing their visual identity, and further the expression of their individuality really helping them through such a difficult time?

This is another case of discrimination and intolerance against fashion and cultural aesthetics. Since the tragic murder of Sophie Lancaster, the media has highlighted increasingly more issues on how discrimination and abuse of alternative cultures and people have adversely affected many lives in a profoundly negative way, often resulting in physical abuse or persistent bullying. We feel that some of the reasons people afflict this abuse towards alternative people is partly the result of the restriction and taboo of dress code within Schools. This mentality has created a stigma around people who dress this way. When anything is addressed to young people as forbidden or bad, it creates all manner of hostility towards such people. This behaviour often stays with them for the duration of adulthood. These policies have been taught by school teachers or figures of authority, making their potency all the stronger.

Aren’t schools there to educate children for a safe and secure future? How is telling a child how to look educational? How is a child’s appearance affecting their education? It is just another unjustified rule to possess more power over school pupils.

We understand that not all British schools have the same policies on how a pupil looks, but a very high majority of schools have shockingly unbalanced codes. An example of what has really pushed us to make this petition was a recent event regarding an acquaintance of ours. He and his friend are pupils at school and were told that they would be suspended if they didn’t cut their hair by the next day. This is in itself gross intolerance to both people and any established rights of freedom and expressions of liberty.

Essentially we want to see the government enforce a law to prevent schools from so restrictively prohibiting any such expressions or the personal appearance of youth, so that young people are free to be themselves and dress in a way that truly makes them happy. This will almost certainly increase tolerance within society and even willingness to learn in School. The benefits of such liberty are far reaching