EIGHTY pupils were in trouble on their first day at a Hampshire school for breaking uniform rules.

Teachers were posted at the gates of Hamble Community Sports College and pulled up children in the wrong clothing as part of a crackdown.

The school, in Satchell Lane, Hamble, which has nearly 1,000 pupils, said it was responding to concerns raised by parents that uniform standards had slipped last year.

Principal Gerry Halley-Gordon said the school sent letters in May and July warning parents of stricter enforcement and reiterating the rules.

Female pupils should wear a blue blazer with a pale blue shirt, a tie and optional jumper with either a navy blue skirt no higher than 10cm above the knee or loose-fitting straight leg or bootcut black trousers.

Boys wear a similar uniform and should again not wear tight-fitting trousers or jeans.

Shoes should not be boots, canvas shoes, high heels or trainers.

But 80 pupils were still picked up, the majority for wearing canvas-type shoes and tight trousers.

Catherine Wells’ daughter Molly Taylor, 14, was one of those pulled up at the school gates who went home to try and correct her uniform – the Year 10 pupil was told her trousers were too tight and her shoes unsuitable.

But Catherine, 44, of Westfield Close, Hamble insisted she had followed the rules.

She said her daughter’s shape made it difficult to find trousers that were not tight-fitting and argued they were not skin tight.

She said that the shoes were made of leather-like material not canvas.

She said Molly was missing out on lessons in a very important year, adding: “We went by the list – if there’s going to be this much confusion going back on their first day they should use a certain shop.”

Mrs Halley-Gordon said pupils had “absolutely not” been sent home, but the policy was pupils could change into the correct uniform if they had it or if they had something suitable at home could go home to change, though only a “minority” had.

Those that could do neither were, after a meeting with teachers, able to return to lessons.

Long-term, Mrs Halley-Gordon said the school would work with parents and pupils would be able to wear the uniform they had for a month.

“I have worked hard to strike a balance between encouraging students to look smart and not setting one style of trousers or shoes,” she said.

“We’re far more flexible than most schools because I take into account the location and financial circumstances.”