School about-turns after encouraging pupils to wear ‘full-blown drag’ for Pride day

A school has backed down after urging children as young as 11 to wear “full-blown drag” at a Pride event, claiming furious parents created the risk of “disruption”.

New Mills School, in the Peak District in Derbyshire, sparked outcry over its “Drag ’n’ Rainbows” themed non-uniform day on June 16, to mark global Pride month.

In a letter to all parents, shared with The Telegraph, the secondary school said “we are encouraging all students of all genders to wear something rainbow or colourful” on what it was calling “Pride day”.

“They may express themselves by doing something small like wearing a tutu, make-up, or painting their nails, to going all out in full-blown drag,” the letter said.

It sparked a backlash from parents and some staff members at the school, while Robin Walker, the chairman of the Commons education select committee, said he was “concerned” about Britain’s teachers going “beyond what most people would see as reasonable” during Pride month.

‘Avoid any potential disruption’

Now, Heather Watts, the school’s headteacher, has scrapped the event.

She said in a statement on Wednesday: “As a school we want to support all our pupils and were happy to support our student LGBT group to organise the event planned for Friday June 16.