SWEATY boys at a Swansea secondary school have put skirts on because they are not allowed to wear shorts.
Angry parents said the school should tailor its uniform policy and cut the boys some slack.
Jayne Snell said her son Luke was reminded of this policy when he put on his school gym shorts for lessons, and again when he wore his black trousers rolled up.
On Wednesday this week he arrived at school and changed into a borrowed skirt.
"He actually looked quite good in it," said Mrs Snell.
She said 15-year-old Luke wanted to make a point, and felt it was "slightly sexist" that girls at the school could wear trousers in the winter and skirts in the summer, but that boys could not wear shorts.
"He is not an attention seeker," she said. "He is trying to make a point for all the boys."
Nursery worker Mrs Snell, of Bryn Eithin, Gowerton, said Luke and some of his friends were planning a more widespread skirt day on Monday. "I am not going to tell him off — as long as they are not being rude or abusive," she said.
Another mum, Karen Davies, aged 36, said she sent her 15-year-old son Steven Keane to school in a pair of shorts as he had fallen ill due to the heat the day before. She said she was stunned when the school phoned, saying he would either be kept in inclusion or sent home unless he put a pair of trousers on.
Mum-of-two Miss Davies, of Cwm Clyd, Waunarlwydd, said: "Steven passed out on Wednesday with heat stroke.
"So I sent him to school on Thursday in a pair of tailored shorts. I had cut down a pair of school trousers and I hemmed them up properly. I put a note in his pocket saying, 'Steven has come into school wearing shorts today due to the extreme heat'."
Miss Davies said she told the school to call her if there was an issue.
"I was told he would spend the day in inclusion because he wasn't wearing a pair of trousers or they will send him home," she said.
"I refused to send him back into school and am keeping him home."
She said petitions were being circulated about the issue.
The mum-of-two said: "The girls have the choice between skirts and trousers — why can't the boys have a choice? At the Welsh school opposite — Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr — the boys are in shorts."
She said she was stunned when she saw boys wandering around wearing skirts in the school yard.
"There's boys in years 10 and 11 who are walking around in skirts — if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it," she said.
A Swansea Council spokesman said the vast majority of parents and pupils at Gowerton maintained the school uniform policy.
"However, we are always open to fresh ideas on how to improve what we do," he said.
"If pupils want to amend the uniform policy we'd welcome ideas which they can put to the pupil council and the senior management team who can then approach the governing body for a decision.
"If parents wish to discuss any issue with us, they do know they can approach the school at any time."
