‘Britain’s strictest head’ lashes out at government plans to limit branded school uniform items

13 March 2025, 10:29 | Updated: 13 March 2025, 10:47

Britain's 'strictest head teacher' has slammed government plans to limit the number of branded school uniform items students can wear.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Katharine Birbalsingh branded the government’s plans for school uniforms “marxist” and warned they could seriously impact students’ ability to learn.

Labour looks set to implement a cap on school uniform items from next year, limiting the number of branded pieces of clothing to three articles, plus a tie, from September next year.

The government believes these plans could save families up to £50 each and £450 annually.

The plans are part of the government’s children’s wellbeing and school bills.

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But, hitting out at Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Ms Birbalsingh, dubbed Britain’s “strictest head teacher”, slammed the plans and warned they could have a serious impact on children’s ability to learn.

Ms Birbalsingh, head teacher at Michaela School, told Nick: “The uniform issue, the way you turn around a school with behaviour issues is to really clamp down on uniforms.

“If you only have three items of branded uniform you just won’t be able to do that.

“She’s pulling the rug from under our feet.”

On families being unable to afford more than three items of uniform, Ms Birbalsingh said schools should simply implement a second-hand system.

“It means you have the opportunity to have excellent behaviour at school, three items is just mad.”

Michaela School has five items of clothing in its uniform, less, Ms Birbalsingh says, than all the top schools in the country.

“We have a blazer, a tie, a bag and a trouser.

“Why a trouser? If you just let them buy any old trousers, girls will often sexualise themselves, boys might pull them down to look like they’re members of gangs, you need to have a school trouser.

“If you stop us doing that, you are genuinely putting children in danger of being pulled into these situations.

“If the England team go out in different shirts, they don’t know who to pass to, if you want to have a sense of belonging, belong to their school and their country, you need to have a good uniform.”

She said a poor uniform has a noticeable impact on exam results.

“You’re not part of a team if you don’t share a uniform.”

These measures, Ms Birbalsingh claims, are part of the Education Secretary’s “Marxist agenda.”

“She has a Marxist agenda she’s trying to ram down our throats while everyone is distracted by Ukraine.”

“It’s Marxist because she’s trying to impose equity, rather than giving everybody equality of opportunity.”

In a letter to Ms Phillipson, the head teacher wrote: "A rule that requires branded trousers may not seem obvious to the non-teacher, but allow me to explain.

"In the inner city and even beyond, boys who are vulnerable to the street, begin by pulling their trousers down their backsides.

"Having trousers that cannot be pulled down, but that can be recognised easily by a cleverly positioned logo so that teachers can hold their standards high with the kids, means that vulnerable boys in the inner city are more likely to feel as if they belong to their school.

"It also ensures girls are not pressured into shortening their skirts or tightening their trousers.

“This limits opportunities for sexual exploitation and keeps both boys and girls safe from harm. If kids at private schools have this protection, so should poor kids in the inner city.”

A government source responded: “The last 14 years have seen outcomes for disadvantaged children go backwards, with growing attainment gaps and more children persistently absent from school.

“We’re acting in the interests of parents and families fleeced by school uniform outfitters for too long and we’re cracking down on it after years of inaction by the Tories.”