PARENTS are putting the heat on a Hampshire school to drop its compulsory uniform rule as the county continued to sizzle in heatwave temperatures.

One mum yesterday described the policy as "child torture" on a day when the Met Office said the south had reached a sweltering 22C (72F).

Pupils at Hounsdown School, Totton, must individually seek and be granted permission to remove their jumpers in class regardless of soaring temperatures.

Anyone who takes off their jumper without teacher's consent is given detention.

Concerns have been raised that shy youngsters are suffering in silence A mum, whose identity the Daily Echo has agreed to withhold, was horrified when her 11-year-old came home feeling unwell.

She said: "The school is violating the human rights of their children by getting them to wear jumpers in this heat.

It's just insane. They are left to boil alive while the teachers arrive in their summer blouses. These are really thick jumpers and my daughter arrived home red-faced with her hair sticking to her."

The rule is set to be tested further today and tomorrow when temperatures are forecast to reach a high of 24C (75F) before falling to 19C (66F) on Thursday and 17C (63F) on Friday.

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Past pupils recalled that the rule has been in place for more than a decade.

One former pupil called for common sense to prevail. He said: "The school is very militant with this rule. I remember having to put my hand up and ask permission - sometimes I was refused. There were other pupils too intimidated to ask."

The issue has divided parents with some maintaining that the jumpers look smart and professional while others have called for the rule to be reviewed. Head teacher Di Nightingale defended the rule as a normal part of school uniform.

She said: "If a pupil wishes to remove their jumper, all they have to do is ask a member of staff and permission is normally granted. Certainly in the current hot weather a large number of pupils have done just that."