Girls given legal right to wear trousers in Northern Ireland schools

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The guidelines 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

Girls in Northern Ireland are to be given the legal right to wear trousers in school if they wish to do so.

Revising guidelines, Education Minister Paul Givan said that, from the start of the 2027/2028 academic year, schools will be banned from prohibiting girls wearing trousers.

There are already laws on school uniform in Northern Ireland, and Givan had previously said they give girls the legal authority to challenge their schools . Education committee members, however, had called on the minister to go further.

Some assembly members have now accused the minister of making a "U-turn", with "substantial sums of public money" spent on drafting legislation "to fix his error of judgement".