Boys and girls at a primary school in Scotland have been asked to come to classes today wearing skirts to promote equality.
The initiative at Castleview Primary in Edinburgh mirrors one in Spain.
However, the request from teachers for pupils to participate in “Wear a Skirt to School Day” has been greeted with a mixed response from parents. Some have backed the campaign but one mother implored the school to “let kids be kids”.
Teachers in Scotland got the idea after teachers and children in Spain wore skirts to show solidarity with a boy who was expelled for wearing one last year.
November 4 has now been called “Wear a Skirt to School Day” in Spain.
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Miss White, a teacher at the Edinburgh school, said pupils had been “learning about the importance of breaking down gender stereotypes” and “we’d love everyone to get involved”.
In an email to parents, the school said it wanted children to be “comfortable” taking part and that trousers and leggings could be worn under the skirts if needed.
It also offered to provide skirts for some children if none were suitable at home. Teachers could wear skirts too, it added.
One mother posted an image of her son in a skirt, saying he was “showing his support” for the campaign. But another mother called Megan, with a son at the school, tweeted: “My son is five and just got this from the school! Let kids be kids”.
Another Twitter user, Nicola, said: “If a boy wants to wear a skirt to school, he should be allowed, but why put pressure on people to ask their son to wear a skirt or be seen as some sort of bigot?”
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Castleview Primary said pupils in P6 — the equivalent of Year 6 in England — devised the idea after becoming aware of the Spanish campaign. Letters from the children have been posted on Twitter.
It added: “We want our school to be inclusive and promote equality.”
Teachers wrote to parents saying: “We’re keen to spread the message that clothes don’t have a gender and that we should all be free to express ourselves as we choose.”
Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said adults were “foisting their own anxieties on to children”.
The city council said pupils did not have to take part if they did not want to.
