Parents outraged after Durham school sends girls home for 'showing an inch of ankle'

Parents have hit out at a secondary school in Durham after pupils were sent home for apparent uniform breaches - including one girl who "showed an inch of ankle".

Around 50 students are said to have been sent home by the Consett Academy on Monday, the first day back after February half term.

Parents claim the school has been inconsistent in its uniform policy, with images on its website depicting students in ankle socks as acceptable.

Laura Cook Foster, whose daughter Charlotte was sent home, branded the school's policy "a joke" in a furious Facebook post.

She wrote: "When [my daughter] asked why her ankle socks were unacceptable - even though they were acceptable in September- they gave no answer.

"Other parents have been told ankle socks might make some teachers feel uncomfortable.

"It's a joke. They keep changing the regulations.

"On their website's 'uniform standards section, there are girls pictured [in skirts] with full legs and ankles on display.

"What are we supposed to do - stay at home and wait just in case they get sent home?"

A spokesman for Consett Academy told the Evening Chronicle that parents were warned all pupils should have the correct uniform before the February break.

The spokesman added that the school was working with parents and students to rectify the situation after a "small number of students didn't meet their expectations".

The Standard approach Consett Academy for comment.