Seeing red.
Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 12:27 am
Fizzy drinks, sweets and E-numbers have all been blamed for making schoolchildren a little excitable.
Now teachers have added another thing to the list – the colour red.
Staff at Eastern Primary School, Dundee, are so convinced of its negative impact on children that they are considering changing the uniform.
Pupils currently wear a bright red jumper or cardigan with grey trousers or skirt. But teachers want there to be only ‘small amounts’ of red – such as in the school tie.
The idea has met with resistance from some parents, who describe the proposal as 'madness' and 'bizarre'.
Headmistress Gillian Knox sent pupils home with a letter saying: ‘Red is often used to energise body and mind, and some research indicates that it can increase heart and breathing rates. [This is] not the calm, relaxed learning state we hope to achieve.
‘A recent study linked red to impaired performance on achievement tasks.
‘Our staff feel that red needs to remain a key element of our uniform but that it would be best used in small amounts, for example, in our school tie.’
The proposal has divided the school community. In feedback, more than half of parents say they would like to keep the uniform as it is.
But the majority of staff voted for a change – with almost two thirds saying they want a largely grey uniform. Meanwhile, the pupils themselves have backed a range of options and colour combinations.
Louise Tait, 36, whose son is a pupil, said: ‘Red is easier to buy than grey – grey always looks washed out. But the whole issue surrounding the colour just seems bizarre.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z49uDFRQoU
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
