The dad of a student at a school in Cornwall has been left furious after his daughter was sent to detention over the heel of her shoe.
Gavin Mitchell, whose daughter attends Bodmin College, believes his child was just one of a number of students who spent the first day of their final year of school in what is known as the 'reset room', due to the shoes they'd worn for the start of the new term.
As many as 35 Year 11 pupils allegedly had to spend the entire day in detention as a result of a last-minute change to the uniform policy, which parents only saw days before the students were set to go back to school.
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“My daughter spent eight hours in reset copying out of a book because she was told she didn’t have the right shoes,” Gavin said. “She didn’t even get to find out her tutor group. To punish kids for the parent’s downfall is just wrong.
“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.”
Images of the shoes students were required to wear had been posted to the college's website in June, along with a notice which explained that shoes 'should be plain black, polishable or patent, and unbranded with no logos'.
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"Shoes that will no longer be acceptable from September 2023 include: hi-tops, canvas material, trainers, branded items with logos and any style of boot," the notice added.
However, there was no mention of shoes needing to have a 'defined heel' until Bodmin College shared a Facebook post last week which included further detail about acceptable shoes.
Gavin claimed his daughter already had her shoes for the year by the time the post was shared.
He continued: “Most parents found out through their own kids that they were in reset because the school didn’t tell them.
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"Don’t get me wrong, I like strict rules, so I was even defending the school when my daughter complained about the new uniform policy over the summer.
“But to find out my kid was punished because we failed to buy the right shoes is ridiculous. They were still adequate and presentable shoes without brand names, they just didn’t have a defined heel.”
Gavin's daughter ended up borrowing a pair of shoes from a friend for the rest of the week, and the dad said she was left upset at having to start the year in detention.
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Another student placed in detention was the brother of Tilly-Rose Turner, who said it was unfair that parents were not notified of the change in rules until the last minute.
“My brother’s shoes were still black and they were appropriate but they didn’t have a defined heel," Tilly-Rose said.
“On the first day back [the college] put them all in the quad, inspected them and took a group of them to reset...
“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."
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Tilly-Rose expressed belief that the punishment did not 'fit the crime'.
A representative for Bodmin College said it would provide a statement on the matter, though it has not yet been released.
LADbible Media Group has contacted Bodmin College for comment.
Emily Brown