EFFORTS to smarten up the school uniform at Hinchingbrooke School have been embraced by the vast majority of pupils and parents, headteacher Keith Nancekievill said this week.

Out of 1,500 pupils, just three e-mails from parents complained they had not received the correct clothing orders while “just a small number of conversations” between parents and staff had tackled uniform issues.

New uniform rules were introduced at the end of last term. Pupils must now wear regulation trousers or skirts which can be ordered from the school shop.

But one parent said the rules remained unclear after her daughter was excluded because of poor behaviour following a dispute about her school uniform.

Faye-Louise Maltby, 14, was told her trousers, which her mother had bought from clothing store Clued Up, were not in line with the new rules. The next day, after a meeting with teachers, Faye-Louise was allowed back and has been told she can continue wearing the trousers.

Emma Parlato, 39, of Goodliff Close, Huntingdon, said: “On Tuesday Faye-Louise went into school ready to start a new term. She was at school by 8.40am and home by 10.30am. I had one of the teachers ring me saying Faye-Louise wasn’t co-operating, and she didn’t want to wear a pair of the school’s trousers. She can’t wear the school trousers because they have metal clips and they irritate her.”

Mr Nancekievill said no official complaint had been made.

He added: “What we were finding were students were coming in in skin-tight trousers. We have supplied trousers at an extremely competitive price, and parents were largely supportive of this.”