After school banned boys from wearing shorts amid heatwave, they wore skirts in protest

A group of schoolboys who were banned from wearing shorts to school even during a heatwave protested by taking advantage of a loophole they found in the dress code. 15-year-old Adrian Copp and a handful of friends took a stand against the "outdated uniform policy" by wearing skirts to school, reports Metro. The cheeky teens' school in St Austell, Cornwall, reportedly doesn't allow pupils to wear shorts under any circumstances. Even when temperatures soared above 30C (86°F) this week, they were expected to wear full-length trousers to class. Understandably peeved by this outdated rule, youngsters found a loophole in Poltair School's uniform policy which allows skirts but does not assign it to gender.

The school's uniform guidelines state: "Students must wear plain black tailored trousers made of standard material that sits at the waist and shoe line. These must be of a style that is complementary of a blazer. Skirts must be pleated and sit no higher than a credit card's width above the knee." Adrian decided to ask his mother, Donna Price, if she would buy him a pleated skirt to challenge the rules. The teen—along with his friends Scott Penman and Connor Humphries—plans to wear it for the rest of the week.

Although they haven't technically broken any rules, the youngsters revealed that they've already come under fire by some of the staff members. School officials who did not appreciate the boys' tongue-in-cheek protest allegedly removed them from class and banned them from socializing with friends for 24 hours. "It was a mixed bag. Some teachers thought we were messing about. But there were others who cheered us on," Adrian said of the staff's reaction to him and his friends showing up to school in skirts.

"There [was] a group of Year 8 boys who were clapping and cheering us," he added. "We were removed from classes and banned for socialization for 24 hours but we were let go because they couldn’t find anything to pin us on. We haven't broken any rules." Adrian still hopes that their protest will force the school to reevaluate its dress policy and make necessary changes for students of all genders. He believes such progress will also be appreciated by schoolgirls who would rather wear shorts than a skirt. "We just want everyone to have the option to wear shorts in this heat and that goes for the girls too," he said.

Adrian admitted that, so far, he has found wearing a skirt to be "a lot cooler definitely." He also highlighted how uncomfortable it is to wear trousers in the heat. The teen's mom, Donna, said she supported her son's decision to protest the shorts ban and revealed the argument to allow both shorts and skirts has been an "ongoing battle" for a few years. "When [Adrian] went to primary school he would wear shorts no problem," she said. "But for some reason, it hasn't been allowed in secondary schools."

"When Adrian came up with the idea at the weekend he had my full backing," the mother-of-four continued. "There's no specified gender on the uniform policy and we wanted to play by the rules. Ideally, it would be to open it up for girls to wear shorts too. Some girls aren't comfortable about wearing skirts so this is about all students." Donna added that although some of her son's classmates had "bottled it," Adrian was determined to make a statement. "I'm so proud Adrian has the guts to take a stand," she said. Adrian's friend, Connor, has also decided to stick to his guns and continue to wear a skirt for the rest of the week. "He's not long been at the school and they have supported my son fantastically but I do feel that they should have a choice to wear shorts in this heat," said his mom, Roxanne Bessell.