JENNI MURRAY: Why I think we should ban skirts in schools now, once and for all

I was recently going through my closet and wondering if it was too early to wear outfits more suited to spring when I realized I barely have any skirts. I can't remember the last time I wore one, but I opted for the comfort and convenience of pants, jeans or leggings. No more searching for tights without ladders that really fit.

How did this fashion-conscious girl from the sixties, the era of the miniskirt no less, turn so fiercely against this accepted feminine clothing style?

The answer lies in growing up, learning about feminism and understanding the terrible extent of sexual harassment.

And nowhere are these issues more important than in schools, where the skirt remains a one-size-fits-all uniform. I remember all too well how the insistence that we wear them meant that we were constantly subjected to the leering and lewd comments of boys.

You couldn't even escape in a segregated school, like my high school. Boys from the Boys' Grammar School peered over hedges to get a good view of us as we played hockey, netball or tennis and the comments came through loud and clear. 'Cor, I like that – too bad about those big gray panties, but what's in them looks great.'

It was the same when we all waited for the bus together. None of us dared to sit on the upper deck; we knew they would look at our skirts as we walked up the stairs.

Looking back, the skirt limited us in so many ways. Who would have done a cartwheel in the playground or even ridden their bike to school? We would never do physical activities that would expose boys to our underwear.

Sadly, it seems that all these years later, a new generation of girls are suffering the same fate – even worse, with the ability to take upskirt photos and send them to friends.

That's why I think we should ban skirts in schools once and for all. I want every girl and boy to attend classes in pants and, for any sport, in shorts. We need absolute equality between boys and girls in their uniforms.

New research from the University of Cambridge confirms my suspicions that school uniforms hold girls back. Because they are forced to wear skirts by school rules, they experience that their freedom to participate in physical activities is severely limited.

Looking at the physical activity levels of more than a million young people aged five to 17 in 135 countries and regions, including England, Scotland and Wales, researchers found that pupils in compulsory school uniform – especially girls of primary school age – were less likely to complete the 60 minutes per day of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization.

Senior author of the study, Dr Esther van Sluijs, said: 'Social norms and expectations tend to influence what they think they can do in this clothing. Unfortunately, that's a problem when it comes to promoting physical health.”

This supports previous research showing that wearing gender-specific school uniforms reminded children that they are a 'boy' or a 'girl' rather than a 'student'. In the context of gender and education, this could reinforce beliefs such as 'girls don't play football' or 'boys don't read books'.

The fact is that we have known all this for a long time. At school in the 1950s and 1960s, the impact on girls' self-confidence to be assertive and take everything they wanted or needed from education, both intellectually and physically, was seriously hampered by our clothing.

A new book due out next week, Schools Of Thought, highlights the importance of assertiveness for girls. Written by teacher David James and Jane Lunnon, former headmistress of Wimbledon High girls' day school and now head of co-educational Alleyn's in south London, it draws on the experience of a number of heads in empowering girls.

Clare Wagner, head of Henrietta Barnett School, a top-performing state girls' school in north London, said: 'There is still a battle to be fought and won. It's about how girls and women see themselves and behave confidently in mixed environments.

'We absolutely recognize the need for some of our girls to develop more confidence in the way they express and present themselves. They tend to be very polite and express themselves too softly, and we need to make sure that as women they can be open and take ownership of the space they are in.”

Girls also need to take ownership of the spaces they currently find themselves in. And that can't come soon enough, given the news of an alarming increase in sexual violence against children by children, especially in middle school.

A leading expert in the field says the problem has reached 'alarming levels' with the number of reported incidents on school grounds increasing by 81 per cent.

One of the crimes is sharing indecent photos of girls. No wonder today's girls are even more concerned than we are about boys looking down their skirts.

Of course, as everyone suggests, there is an urgent need to curtail the offensive material that under-18s have access to today. But in the meantime, we need to put an end to schoolboy leering once and for all by banning the school skirt.

There have been numerous attempts. Many of us told stories about how guys made us feel uncomfortable because they could see our legs. We were also harassed by adult men outside school. I guess we've satisfied the fantasy of the willing schoolgirl – pigtails, satchel, short skirt, socks and all. Horrible.

In 2015 there was a campaign to get schools to let girls wear pants. Some schools decided to relax their rules and allow this, but Katia Chornik, who led the campaign on behalf of her daughter, described it as a long and bitter process and the Trousers For All campaign ended in 2022.

So here goes. I want to reset it. No 'sexy' skirts to look up at, no legs to ogle, no delicately twisted ankles to flash. Take the sex out of school. Then we will see girls aged five to eighteen become fit, confident, assertive and smart – just as freely as the boys. It's called equal opportunity.

SORRY JOANNA, PJs ARE NOT FOR LADIES LIKE US

Now, I don't want to be age-conscious – why would I be my age – but what was Dame Joanna Lumley, 77, thinking when she stepped out in her pajamas to the Burberry show at London Fashion Week? And green sunglasses in the dark? Maybe a 16 year old could get away with it, but Joanna just looked like she forgot to get dressed.

NAVALNY'S HEROIC WOMAN DESERVES OUR SUPPORT

I've never wanted to cry before when a politician has died. But Alexei Navalny was special. I have followed his anti-corruption campaign against Putin from the beginning.

His courage was unprecedented. I heard him firmly say that evil triumphs when good people do nothing. Now he is gone and it is left to a good woman to do something.

Yulia Navalnaya has supported her husband in everything: the attack on his life in 2020 using the deadly nerve agent Novichok and his years in the most cruel captivity in the Arctic. Now she says what many will fear to say: “Putin killed my husband. I will continue Alexei Navalny's work. And I call on you to support me.'

I can't imagine how she will cope and survive, but her courage deserves as much support as can be mustered from all of us.

Evil must not prevail.

IT'S CALLED A BLACK-TIE EVENT FOR A REASON

Some of my favorite men were queuing for photos at the Baftas – Cillian Murphy, no doubt destined for an Oscar, Andrew Scott and Ryan Gosling – but oh, what a mess they looked. Spicy suits perhaps, but no ties in between. I'm sorry guys, but for a black tie event just bring out the black tie.

P.S

As a child, I would sit at the breakfast table and stare at my favorite spread, Lyle's Golden Syrup. Today I am shocked to discover that the reclining lion on the tin that I loved so much is dead! I thought he was sleeping and the bees woke him up. Please don't change it. The Old Testament derivation “Out of strength came sweetness” is stylish; the rebranding is not!