Ireland

Carlow school principal denies female pupils were told not to wear tight clothing

The school has denied the claims
The school has denied the claims The school has denied the claims

THE principal of a school at the centre of a uniform row has denied that female pupils were told not to wear tight clothing.

Comments posted on social media about Presentation College Carlow were "scandalous and damaging to staff", its head said.

Ray Murray was speaking in response to an online petition, which was set up amid claims pupils were told not to wear leggings or tight trousers or skirts.

Posted anonymously, the petition alleged students were told to avoid such clothing as "they cannot show off the female anatomy as it is distracting to the female and male staff of the school".

It had last night been signed by more than 9,000 people.

But Mr Murray denied any "inappropriate, wrong or uncomfortable" remarks were made about clothing.

He told RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme that the petition came after assemblies were held on Friday to remind female students of the uniform policy after staff had found that "when the students were coming in, particularly the girls, the uniform regulations weren't being followed".

He said the petition was based on "unsubstantiated facts".

"We're bemused in one sense, we're annoyed in another sense, in terms of some of the comments that have been up on social media which are scandalous and damaging to staff too," he said.

"What was a normal enough assembly in terms of reminding them of the regulations has escalated into this."

Mr Murray insisted the school's uniform policy had "not changed at all".

"The only change was that because of Covid-19 regulations (when) students have a PE class they are coming to school in their PE gear rather than changing in and out of it as they would have done normally," he said.

He also said the teachers had assured him nothing had been said.

But Sandy Haughney, whose daughter is a student at the school, said the girls were told that tight black tracksuit bottoms could not be worn "because it was showing off their hips and thighs" and they were "too tight and revealing".

Ms Haughney told Newstalk Breakfast: "Look, the students have made it clear themselves - the key words they have used to describe how they feel are degraded, paranoid, violated, disgusted and unsafe".