I had to rip bars off my daughters’ £170 Clarks shoes after school complained… my youngest was left in tears on 1st day
A FUMING mum says her daughter's first day in Year 7 ended in tears after she was told off for wearing 'inappropriate' shoes.
Keeley says teachers warned Freya, 11, her shoes would be confiscated if she kept wearing them - because they were decorated with a silver bar.
Mum-of-three Keeley spent £170 on two pairs of Clarks shoes for daughters Freya and Emmie, 15, for the start of term.
Teachers at Ossett Academy, West Yorkshire, also scolded Emmie for decoration on her shoes and made her wear an old pair from lost property.
Keeley, 41, used an angle grinder to remove the silver metal bars when they got home from school.
She told The Sun: "My girls turned up at school and suddenly they were pulled aside and told their shoes were being confiscated.
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"The teachers got out old pairs of shoes from lost property, one was a pair of boys shoes.
"It was Freya's first proper day in Year 7 and she was in tears. It's not what any child would expect on their first day of big school.
"They were humiliated, it's beyond a joke.
"I spent almost £200 on these shoes. The kids have worn them now so I can't take them back and get a refund.
"I didn't know what to do, so we used an angle grinder to remove the metal bars.
"It's such a shame because a pair of nice professional-looking shoes now just look ridiculous."
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Freya had arrived for her second day in Year 7 when teachers left her in tears moaning she had not met school uniform standards.
Emmie went to console her sister but was told off herself and handed an old pair of shoes.
She called her mum Keeley from the toilets who rushed to the school and took both daughters home.
Keeley is understood to be one of many mums and dads complaining over Ossett Academy's strict uniform guidelines.
At the beginning of September the school sent a five-page letter to parents demanding shoes are "plain black and without embellishments or decoration".
The letter said shoes must be broken to minimise the risk of blisters, but adds if pupils are in pain they will not be allowed to change into different footwear.
Keeley added: "The school is like a prison. Kids get detentions for the smallest things like forgetting a pen and the headteacher says they can't wear earrings.
"My girls are traumatised, they don't want to go back to school.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Ossett Academy said no pupil has been told off for having the wrong uniform.
A spokesman for Ossett Academy said: "All pupils and parents were provided with clear guidance around our uniform requirements before the start of the academic year this has included an offer of support for any parents who are facing financial difficulties.
"We have indeed purchased the uniform for a number of our pupils.
"We have worked with the Local Authority to support the distribution of uniform vouchers to our disadvantaged families.
"We have provided elements of uniform free of charge to all of our pupils and reduced the amount of uniform items requiring a logo.
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"No pupil has been sanctioned or told off for not having the correct uniform, instead they have been offered a replacement either on loan or free of charge.
"All replacements are brand new to each pupil."
