A BASINGSTOKE mum is furious that her son was excluded from school for wearing the wrong shoes.

Dena Stanton, the mother of 12-year-old Callum Dolby, was told her son could not go back to Fort Hill Community School until she bought him a new pair of school shoes because his current Nike ones have a black tick on the side.

Mrs Stanton, of Kenilworth Road, Winklebury, ordered Callum’s shoes from clothes retailer Next’s school range. She said the school’s handbook stipulates that shoes need to be smart and black but does not prohibit branding.

Mrs Stanton said: “I could understand it if it was a bright-coloured tick but they are beautiful, smart black shoes and they are not trainers.

“I really don’t think it’s right. I took the receipt in to show them but they said it was a sports brand.

“Callum is always neat and tidy and clean and has everything he needs for school. I don’t think the school has treated us very fairly.”

Year 8 pupil Callum started back at the school, in Winklebury, on September 7, but it was not until last Thursday that his mother received a call from the school informing her she would have to buy new shoes for her son and that if he did not have them by Monday he would be excluded from school.

Callum did not go to school on Monday, but when his mother took him in on Tuesday and he was wearing the same shoes, which cost £38 and have velcro straps and lime green soles, he was not allowed to go to classes. The same thing happened yesterday morning.

Mrs Stanton was due to have a meeting with head teacher Lesley Lawson to discuss the matter yesterday as The Gazette went to press.

Mrs Stanton – who has three girls and another son – said: “Everything has to have the school logo on. You can’t buy cheap uniform.

“The jumper and blazer have to have the logo, and the polo shirts in the summer have to have logos on, which are about £11 for one, instead of a pack of three or four for a couple of pounds from the supermarket.”

Speaking on Tuesday, head teacher Mrs Lawson said: “We have a very clear school uniform policy. We are very tough on uniform and the parents know we are going to chase them to comply.

“The parents’ handbook says black sensible shoes and our stand is that brands like Nike and Adidas are sports shoes.

“We have always been a school that is strict on everything. Callum needs to be in his school uniform in school – that’s the bottom line.

“We have very high standards at Fort Hill. That’s why we are over-subscribed and why parents choose the school.”