TEENAGE school girls were left “shaking and distraught” after being pulled out of their classrooms and lined-up in a corridor before having their skirts measured.

Students at the Stanway School, in Winstree Road, Colchester, were subjected to an “informal” uniform check which reportedly left some pupils feeling violated.

The way in which the process was conducted has not gone down well with many of the pupils’ parents, who feel they should have first been asked for consent.

One fuming mother says some of the girls involved protested against the measuring but said their objections were disregarded.

Echo:

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She also says her 15-year-old daughter was left badly affected by the incident.

Speaking anonymously, she said: “The teachers said if the skirts were shorter from the knee to their access cards then they would have to buy a new skirt.

“Most of the girls’ skirts were not rolled up and just fitted normally, but they had their blazers pulled back so the teachers could get to them.

“My daughter was almost crying; she suffers with anxiety as it is and was left shaking and distraught about the whole situation - I was disgusted when she told me.

“Young women’s bodies come in all shapes and sizes and those with small waists, like my daughter, cannot have a skirt that fits both their waist and reaches their knee.”

The parent has now called for the wider issue of sexualisation to be addressed, in place of focusing energy on punishing girls for showing too much skin.

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“I don’t understand who is offended by the 5cm above her knee,” she added.

“If it is the teachers, then it is them who should be lined-up in the corridor and taught not to sexualise girls in skirts - Stanway School is stuck in a misogynistic way.”

School bosses said the checks were carried out to determine whether or not they would need to purchase new items of clothing for the new school year.

A spokesman for Stanway School said: “We were carrying out an informal uniform check on all students, both boys and girls.

“This was part of a drive over the last term to bring the uniform standards more in line with our school expectations.”