Free school threatens to separate pupils from their peers and ban them from extra-curricular activities if they continue not to wear uniform

A free school is threatening children with segregation from their peers outside of lessons and a ban on representing it in sports events and taking part in trips if they continue not to wear uniform, Education Uncovered has learned.

In an escalation of its protracted dispute with families who opted for a different ethos under the Steiner system, a school now run by the Avanti Schools Trust has sent letters and emails to parents with warnings of what will happen should pupils continue not to follow its newly-instigated uniform policy.

Secondary children face spending lunch and breaktimes away from their peers, under supervision in a separate teaching block, as well as a ban on extra-curricular activities, while the latter will apply to primary pupils.

The communication, from Phil Arnold, principal at Avanti Hall School in Exeter – the largest of three former Steiner free schools taken over by Avanti in 2019 – warns of this set of consequences should children continue not to wear uniform to the academy.

But the move has enraged parents with whom this website has been in contact, with Arnold’s letter appearing to argue that families actively opted for the Avanti brand and therefore should accept its rules, but parents pointing out that they actually chose Steiner education, which has never had a uniform, rather than the very different version now on offer via the 11-school Avanti chain.