Kelly, who did not give her surname, said she was concerned about how the decision would affect her daughter.
“My daughter has contact lenses and braces,” she said. “She does need a mirror if she needs to get her contact lenses out.”
Students who need a mirror for a “medical purpose” can still ask for one at the school’s reception.
The decision would not get rid of any issues, she said.
Another parent, also called Kelly, said the removal of the mirrors was “silly”.
“They’re just mirrors, aren’t they? We have mirrors at home, why can’t we have them in school?” she asked.
Loading
But Karen, who has a daughter at the school, was broadly supportive of the change.
“She can’t go in and check her hair and check her eyelashes haven’t fallen off,” she said. “Now she can’t do that and she can get to class on time, it’s actually probably not a bad thing.”
Psychologist Emma Kenny said pupils should be part of decisions that affected their lives.
“You don’t know what’s going on in that kid’s life,” she said. “That hub in the bathroom where they are checking make-up and covering spots can be powerfully important to them.”
Kenny said a bigger problem might be why children were spending so much time in school toilets in the first place.
In 2023, Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester replaced mirrors in girls’ toilets with posters describing make-up as a “harmful drug” that made women “feel ugly”.
One parent told the Daily Mail at the time: “Yes, girls need to be taught about inner beauty, but this approach is plain wrong.”
The school’s headmaster, Neil Morris, later admitted it was a mistake, adding: “With hindsight, the posters should have been placed in their classroom area, not in one toilet.”
Other schools are trying novel measures to reduce distractions in the classroom.
Loading
Three schools in Surrey this week launched a pilot program to restrict mobile phone usage with an app that blocks social media and messaging apps. About 2300 pupils are set to participate in the pilot, organised by the GLF Schools trust.
Glyn School in Ewell, Merstham Park in Redhill and Rosebery School in Epsom are to take part in the pilot. Meridian High School in Croydon will also be involved.
Trust chief executive Julian Drinkall said mobile phones led to “distracting notifications”, “dangerous content” and “excessive screen time”.
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.6436%2C$multiply_0.7554%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_219/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/t_smh_no_label_no_age_social_wm/e5f7ae928d9742c644717d47864f6498f05559ee
2025-03-04 02:30:00