NI Schools: Girls to be given right to wear trousers

In a statement, Alliance’s education spokesperson, and chair of the Education Committee, Nick Mathison also described the decision as a “U-turn”.

“I want to thank all of the young campaigners who have been bravely raising their voices about this, and whose dedication will lead to seeing this wrong righted,” he said.

“The committee will be doing their full due diligence to guarantee the wording used in this update will ensure all girls are granted the right to wear trousers as part of their school uniform.”

Mathison added: “Minister Givan will have to explain why he took so long to move on this issue. Substantial sums of public money have been spent on drafting legislation to fix his error of judgement, and we have said all along that he could have avoided this with the stroke of a pen.”

A statement published on the Department of Education website said: “The guidelines issued today stipulate that school uniform policies for the 2027/28 school year onwards must include the option for girls to wear trousers throughout the school year, including for PE and Games.

“The guidelines are legally binding under the School Uniforms Act which came into operation earlier this year.”

It added: “The Act is designed to help reduce the cost of school uniforms and ensure that affordability, comfort, practicality and sustainability are at the centre of school uniform policies.”