Enraged students rioted at their school’s uniform policy, which was believed to ban white socks and chanted “liberate the knee” during the latest TikTok-inspired protest.
Dozens of pupils at a school in Hampshire joined forces on Wednesday in a campaign against alleged new unified restrictions.
Some students chanted “white is right” against the ban on white socks – seemingly unaware of possible racist interpretations of the phrase.
Also, boys would wear skirts as part of the demonstration, and at one point all the protesters sat firmly on the ground.
The campaign in New Milton follows a spate of other “TikTok-inspired riots” against school policies across the country.
Secondary pupils rallied against new uniform rules at Arnewood School in Hampshire
Teachers at Oasis Academy Mayfield school in Southampton set off fire alarms this week as students protested against unisex toilets.
Last Friday, a new ‘TikTok riot’ even forced Warriner School to scrap new rules for a ‘gender neutral’ leotard and a ban on girls from wearing skirts.
It is clear that students at The Arnewood School are now allowed to wear white socks, but not as a result of the protests.
A spokesperson for the school explained that it was not a ban on white socks, but an “omission” as they were not included in the new school policy.
This ‘mistake’ was subsequently corrected by the school board at a similar time to when the protests had taken place.
“Omission of white socks was a mistake when the policy changed,” said the spokesperson.
“It’s been corrected by the school board.”
Despite confusion over rules, new headteacher Jamie Anderson described the students’ behavior as “extreme” and threatened the students with suspension.
New headteacher Jamie Anderson (pictured) described their behavior as ‘extreme’ and has since threatened the students with suspension
A letter was also reportedly sent to parents claiming that students ran through hallways and banged on doors.
In a video uploaded to social media, Mr. Anderson was likened to a chicken poop.
He said: ‘At the end of the morning break, a small number of students caused some disruption to teaching.
“It was unclear what it was about, but it affected some of the lessons for a while.
It follows similar incidents in schools across the country, footage of which has been shared on the social media platform TikTok.
“Those involved who can be identified will face our disciplinary procedures, which may include suspension if their misconduct was extreme and affected the learning of children who wanted to continue their lessons.
“This behavior is well below the high standards demanded at Arnewood and will not be tolerated.
“If students have concerns, there are several methods to appropriately communicate them to staff, including our school council which meets regularly.”
Despite this, some parents have broken up at school and praised their children – with one father saying ‘I will not punish my child’.
A parent criticized Arnewood online, even accusing the school of threatening to call the police.
He wrote, “Again, you have failed our children.
“I understand that if my child uses foul language, I will accept her punishment. I understand that if my child was involved in a fight, I will accept her punishment. I understand that if my child is caught smoking I will accept her punishment!!!!
“But to threaten to call the police on my child and send her home for being involved in a protest for wearing WHITE socks, this is unbelievable and pretty amazing!!!
“I’m definitely not going to punish my child!!!!
‘FREE THE WHITE SOCKS!!!!!’
Another mother, who declined to be named, also said: “Fair play for the children who stand up for themselves, everyone has the right to a voice.”
She also claimed the protest was centered around the idea of ”their body, their choice.”
“Children who participated were excluded, some were threatened, there are a lot of angry parents,” she added.
