A SCHOOL’s decision that students must wear clip-on ties rather than ordinary ones in the coming year has been met with opposition from some students.

The governors and headteacher of Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School (KLB) in Wotton-under-Edge have been criticised for making the decision without consultation of parents or pupils.

The year groups were informed in assemblies at the beginning of July before the break up for the summer holidays, apparently with some booing followed.

The move is a bid to give students a smarter and more cohesive appearance from September but one student , who asked to not be named, said the situation had created a rift between students and their school, which they said was regarded as a great school by parents and students alike.

“I don't know or haven't met anybody who supports the ties,” they said.

“Pupils feel let down by their school after not having a say in this. They feel these changes were forced upon them.

“For such a big change in place why didn't the school consult us as students undergoing these changes?”

A Facebook group called “KLB school get it wrong with clip on ties” has been setup to raise awareness of the issue and has so far generated almost 300 likes.

The KLB pupil added: “A student voice is something I believe is paramount in any school community and following the announcement many people felt disappointed in not having a say."

The pupils are believed to face penalties if they do not wear the new regulation uniform but despite this some are thought to be planning to wear the old ties instead.

It is understood the new ties have already been bought by the school, which feature a new design to represent the student's house.

Headteacher Andrew Harris said the school worked very hard to ensure students look smart, a feature he said that was appreciated by parents and visitors.

“The motive behind this change is purely to help the students to look smart and to avoid them feeling pressurised to wear their tie in a particular way just to ‘fit in’ with their peer group,” he said.

“While compliance with our uniform is excellent, there are some issues with the way in which it is worn, in particular the ties.

“In spite of many strategies to achieve the correct wearing of ties, there is still considerable variation and many students wear the tie poorly.”

Mr Harris said the move was not a safety issue, with very few, if any, issues with ties being abused in the past and the decision was made after looking at other schools following the practise.

He added that since the decision was made he had received comment from just three parents and one, unnamed, written comment from a student.

“Therefore the clear evidence is that this change is not viewed negatively by any more than a very small minority of the school community,” he said.