A furious mum claims her ‘top grade’ daughter was taken out of lessons for wearing a coat with a fur-lined hood.

Claire Williams has blasted Sir Thomas Wharton Academy in Edlington after daughter Grace Evans, 15, was sent home ‘upset’.

The GCSE student always ‘looks smart and presentable’ but has had her learning needlessly disrupted again following a more than a year of the pandemic, her mother says.

She has told the school to ‘get its priorities right’ after allegedly being told: ‘If you don’t like it, go to a different school’.

But staff have made no apologies for the controversial uniform policy, saying they have the ‘highest expectations’.

Speaking to the Doncaster Free Press, Claire said: ‘I have spoken with the member of staff who has apparently brought this rule in because he doesn’t like this style of coat.

‘My daughter is in an important year and has just missed out over a year of education.

‘For a school to be taking her out of education again over fur around a hood I find very concerning and feel the school needs to get its priorities right.’

The school’s policy states: ‘Only plain outdoor coats are permitted. Hoodies, fur, denim and leather jackets are not permitted at any time on the academy site.

‘Outdoor coats must be removed at the entrance to the Academy buildings, as outdoor wear is not permitted indoors.

‘Non-Academy clothing worn inside the building will be confiscated immediately.’

Claire claims the policy is unclear as it could mean ‘a full fur coat and not just lined’.

She says she ‘finds it hard how they can dictate what coat can be worn to and from school when they are not even allowed it in school’.

A spokesman for the Academy has responded, saying all parents were warned of expectations before the new term.

He said: ‘Having the highest expectations in terms of school uniform is just one of multiple proven strategies for school improvement implemented across the Academy, including continuously improving the quality of teaching and learning, attendance and behaviour.

‘These combined strategies are ensuring the Academy is continuing to make rapid progress on its school improvement journey. Within the Academy all our students follow the high uniform standards’

The spokesman added the school had received positive messages from parents about the ‘rapidly improving standards’.

He said: ‘Our staff are fully committed to delivering exceptional learning for all our students and recognise the importance of high standards and expectations in driving the school forwards.’

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