With anxiety and depression seemingly always on the rise amongst teens one British school is aiming to try and reduce one possible cause by banning designer clothes at school. Specifically, in order to avoid “poverty shaming” Woodchurch High School in Birkenhead, Merseyside, has put a ban on any expensive designer coats, with Canada Goose, Moncler and Pyrenex being just a few examples of brands that will no longer be tolerated.
As for how they came to the decision, the school’s administration communicated with the school’s students and their families to discuss the issues, collectively they concluded that “The labels banned by the school include children’s sizes which sell for between £400 and £1,000 GBP,” reported BBC. Furthermore, in a statement to the British Broadcasting Company, the school stated: “The pupils spoke to us about the pressure on families and the pressure on themselves to wear particular branded coats. A few years ago we introduced a school bag for the same reason,” adding: “We have had parents approaching us asking us to introduce a ban prior to us writing the letter.”
As for whether this is going to be a success, we will have to wait and see as the change is sent to be implemented after the school holidays, however, if we see a positive result we’re sure we will see more schools making a similar move soon.
