Change out of uniform to keep safe, pupils told

Schools are telling children to change out of uniform to avoid being attacked on their way home, a government adviser revealed today.

Sir Mike Tomlinson, chief adviser for London schools, said the precaution was being taken to curb rivalry between pupils at some secondaries.

He also said schools should consider all available methods, including the use of metal detectors, to prevent more teenage killings.

His comments followwarnings from the Government that teachers must be on the look out for pupils wearing gang colours, bandanas and jewellery.

Sir Mike told the Evening Standard: "I have heard of schools where kids are told to change out of uniform to stop them being picked on."

This month, 14-year-old David Idowu died after being stabbed in Southwark in what is believed to have been a feud between pupils at two schools.

Sir Mike stressed that most did not have a problem with knife crime and the use of metal detectors should be a matter for individual headteachers to decide on.

"The vast majority of knife incidents occur outside of schools, not in schools," he said.

"Many schools will know whether they are in an area where the knife problem is serious, and therefore they may choose [metal detectors] as one way of deterring young people at least from taking them into schools.

"I think it is right that we look at every possibility - anything to reduce future deaths of young people in London has to be something we should support."

The adviser's comments came amid growing unease over the safety of children on the streets.

It emerged this year that pupils at £13,000-a-year Highgate School were being forced to cover up their uniforms to avoid being mugged on the way home.

Police said the children were targeted because muggers believed they would be carrying cash.

Schools have increasingly returned to uniforms as a way of improving discipline and fostering a positive ethos. But in recent government advice, schools were urged to consider the impact of "styles and colours of clothing associated with gangs" when drawing up their uniform policies.

But one headteacher warned some schools still refuse to accept they have a problem with pupils wearing gang colours. The head, speaking anonymously, said: "The problem is when you have got a headteacher who doesn't understand the issues and is putting their head in the sand, saying, 'I don't have a problem.'" Sir Mike said that the education system had failed to give many of the teenagers who turned to knife and gang crime the sense of success and belonging they needed.

"Education is vital," he said. "If we can get it right then we can recognise the talents and achievements of every person and increase their own personal self-esteem and self-belief.

"If we fail to do that then some people who still want to have that recognition and sense of belonging will choose the way of gangs and gang culture. My impression is that many of the young people who are the perpetrators have not had any form of success within the education system."

SCHOOLS WHERE DRESS IS KEY TO SUCCESS

Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney has been hailed as a shining example of how to raise standards in a poor area. Key to its success has been a strict discipline policy, which includes a traditional school uniform. Headteacher Sir Michael Wilshaw, who co-designed the grey and red blazers, has said the uniform adds to pupils' sense of "self-worth". Ofsted rates the school as "outstanding".

Pupils at Fulham Cross Girls' School in Parsons Green exchanged the "scruffy" black and red sweatshirt they used to wear for a black blazer with pink trim - at their own request. Headteacher Carol Jones said pupils were now "walking taller". Exam results have also improved.

Students at Sydney Russell School, Dagenham, stand out in their green blazers. Headteacher Roger Leighton said the policy saw exam pass rates quadruple and behaviour improve dramatically. Last year, the school rewarded pupils by allowing them to wear "modern" polo shirts instead of formal shirts all year round.

Lower school pupils at King Solomon High School, Ilford, are expected to keep to the uniform policy, with school blazers and badges. The modern Orthodox Jewish school insists on uniform and a kippur (skull cap) until sixth form when suits are allowed. Former pupil Craig Silver, 21, said: "The younger years looked up to the sixth-formers and we didn't take that lightly. We were there to set an example. In suits, we felt like proper working adults. It made us grow up."