School’s Strict Shoe Policy Sparks Outrage
A concerned father, Gavin Mitchell, has shared his frustration after his daughter found herself in detention on her very first day of school due to her choice of shoes. This incident occurred at Bodmin College in Cornwall, where Mr. Mitchell alleges that approximately 35 Year 11 students, including his daughter, were confined to a “reset room” throughout the day due to violations of the school’s dress code.
Mr. Mitchell expressed his discontent, stating that many parents were not informed about the issue in advance, leaving him feeling quite upset about the school’s decision. He remarked, “They were denied an education on their first day, and they weren’t even given a warning. The workplace is strict; if you go in with the wrong shoes, you get a verbal warning, but [the college is] torturing kids to make sure the parents buy the right shoes.”
The college’s official website outlines the school’s uniform policy, which specifies that shoes should be plain black, polishable or patent, unbranded, and without logos. However, a week before the start of the school year, the college posted on Facebook that shoes must also have a “defined heel.” This addition to the rules caught many parents off guard as they had already purchased shoes for their children.
Mr. Mitchell explained, “They came out with vague specifics on what shoes they want, but they failed to notify parents. Most parents found out through their own kids that they were in reset because the school didn’t tell them.” He added, “They were still adequate and presentable shoes without brand names; they just didn’t have a defined heel.”
As a result of this sudden rule change, Mr. Mitchell’s daughter had to borrow a pair of shoes from a friend for the rest of the school week. Another student, Tilly-Rose Turner’s brother, faced a similar situation and was also placed in detention on the same day due to his shoes.
Tilly-Rose Turner expressed her understanding of the need for a uniform policy but found it unfair that parents were not notified of the rule change until the last minute. She stated, “There was a letter sent to parents at the end of last term regarding new school shoes and the uniform, and then last week they put a post on their Facebook page saying shoes need to have a defined heel.”
She further commented, “On the first day back, [the college] put them all in the quad, inspected them, and took a group of them to reset. They weren’t even given a warning, and some parents weren’t even notified by the school; they found out through their kids.” Tilly expressed her belief that the punishment was unfair and that students should have been given a warning before being placed in detention.
She concluded, “My brother was so excited for his first day, and he was crushed when he was put in reset because he’s never had detention before. It’s the most important day of secondary school, and he couldn’t see his friends or go to any lessons.”
This incident follows a recent report of another school where a student was compelled to wear shoes that were too small, resulting in agonizing blisters. The student’s parents had provided black ballet-style shoes as a temporary measure when the new shoes didn’t arrive, but school staff insisted they be closed. On the day of the incident, the student was allegedly handed size seven shoes, despite needing an eight, with staff instructing her to wear them.
The Sun has reached out to Bodmin College for comment on this matter.