https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/parents-students-slam-carlow-school-23061347Parents and students slam Carlow school after female pupils told not to wear 'distracting' clothingFemale students from first to sixth year were told by staff not to wear tight leggings to PE because it could be 'distracting' to male teachersBy Ciara Phelan Donal MacNamee
15:48, 24 NOV 2020 UPDATED15:49, 24 NOV 2020
NEWS
Students and parents have launched a blistering attack on a Co Carlow school after it emerged female pupils were told not to wear tight clothing to school because it could be "distracting" to male teachers.
Female students in all years at Presentation College Carlow were reportedly called out of class last Friday by Year Heads who told them not to wear revealing clothes to school.
While male students received no advice on their attire, female students were directed not to wear tight leggings to school or roll up their skirts too short, the Carlow Nationalist reports.
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, the Department of Education said it would not comment on any individual case but any decisions on school uniform policy are a matter for the school’s board of management at local level.
The statement said: “Schools should consult with parents and students in relation to this policy.
“In any instance where a parent of a student has cause for complaint, matters would normally be addressed to the individual teacher or school principal as appropriate.
“If matters cannot be resolved at that level then a complaint can be addressed to the school’s board of management.”
The instructions – which saw younger students given a 'PG' version of the orders given to older students – were reportedly issued so male teachers would not be distracted by the clothes worn by female pupils at the school.
Some students were in tears after receiving the talk.
And a petition against "sexism against female students in school" has gained almost 4,000 signatures in the two days since it was launched.
If students were left upset and angry by the incident, many parents were left equally outraged – and many online have condemned the school for its approach to the issue.
One wrote that "this attitude to women's bodies belongs in the 1950s", while another said: "I'm signing this because in 2020 we shouldn't tell schoolgirls not to wear tight clothes in case in distracts grown men."
The online petition hasn't proved the only form of response to the affair, with a survey reportedly carried out among students to find out how they felt about the clothing directive.
A notice left in the girls' bathroom on Monday – which informed students about the survey – said Presentation College "failed to consider how this would make the female students feel".
It added that many female students felt "uncomfortable, degraded, paranoid, violated, disgusted and unsafe" as a result of the talk.
The Irish Mirror contacted Presentation College for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication.