Bolton St Catherine's Academy reinstates coat ban inside

Bolton St Catherine's Academy allowed pupils to wear coats in December due to the cold and a fault in the boilder.

But now the school is asking parents to follow the rules in a recent message sent out.

It states “Please remind your child that coats must not be worn in the school building. Coats worn inside will be confiscated until the end of the day. Thank you.”

Rachael Lucas, headteacher at Bolton St Catherine’s, said: “Just as many schools in Bolton do, we have never permitted students to wear coats in the building - students are always asked to remove them.

“We want our students to be seen in their unform, identifiable and with their year group tie clearly on show.

St Catherine's Academy have said that they previously had the rule about the coats in place, but lifted it temporarily due to a cold spell and defective boiler (Image: Newsquest)

“However, with the previous very cold weather before Christmas and also with part of the school boiler not working effectively, we allowed the students to wear them if they were cold. This was a short-term measure.”

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She added: “Students can have a locker to place their coat in if they so wish plus students do not need to spend time outside if they do not want to as we are a contained single building.

“If they want to wear their coat outside then do not wear it inside where there is clearly no need.

“Students who are wearing their coats inside are clearly choosing to defy the school rule that is long established and generally really well adhered to.

"This information has been shared with parents in last term and we had no comments from parents at all. It is part of our Red Lines document shared multiple times with parents so they should have been well aware."

Karla Hornby's daughter, Charlie, would be one of the children affected by the rule (Image: Karla Hornby)

Karla Hornby, aged 37, from Breightmet, is one of the parents who was concerned by the message.

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Her daughter, Charlie, aged 15, is in Year 11 at the school.

Karla said: "My daughter is in Year 11.

“Regarding this morning, with how cold it has been, there have been temperatures of -4°C, my daughter has come home and said how freezing it is in the school.

“Now they’ve said that the coats have to be taken off.”

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She continued: “I am sure if I sent my younger child to school without a coat they would have rung social services to say why hasn’t he got a coat on.

“And that coats will be confiscated if they wear them in school? They have to wear a blazer, but they’re not waterproof and they’re no good in isolation at all, it’s just ridiculous."

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at zach.harrison@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @zachhjourno.