Girl ‘sent home from school' for wearing charity socks
Caroline Hargadon, 45, said her daughter Milly's high school called to say the World Down Syndrome Day socks did not 'adhere to the uniform policy'.
The colourful socks, bought for £8 from charity Down Syndrome International, featured blue and purple faces.
The 12 year-old was praised for raising awareness by wearing the socks in 2024, her mother said.
But on March 21, staff at Colne Primet Academy in Lancashire called to say that Milly would be taken out of her classroom and put into isolation if she did not remove them.
Ms Hargadon, from Colne, said: 'I was fuming when they rang me up. It's just a pair of socks. I'd understand if it was a bright, wacky T-shirt, but she had her uniform on.'
Milly wore the socks to raise money for World Down Syndrome Day and support her brother Brody, who was born with the genetic condition.
Her mother added: 'She didn't want to take them off because it's for her little brother who she's really close to but they said they know that, but it's not uniform.
'I brought her home because she wasn't going to face consequences for not doing anything wrong to be punished for.'
Annual celebration
World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated annually on March 21. The date, in the third month of the year, was chosen as it signifies the trisomy, or triplication, of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome, also known as Down's syndrome.
Colne Primet Academy said it had a calendar of charity events celebrated throughout the year but World Down Syndrome Day was not one of them.
Ms Hargadon added: 'When I was talking to the deputy head, I did get a bit upset but it was more anger than anything. I just think it's silly really.'
A spokesman for Colne Primet Academy said: 'As a school, we celebrate a wide range of charity and national events, which are planned throughout the school year.
'Friday's event was not part of this year's charity calendar of events.
'While we appreciate that our students and families will have a range of charities and causes, which are personal to them and we are happy to support these, this can only happen where arrangements have been made in advance and in agreement with the school.
'In this case, no request had been made from students or their families prior to Friday about this charity event.
'Our policies, including our uniform policy, are available on our website and in our parent handbook.'
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