Every day, high school girls spend their passing periods swapping makeup tips and gossip – but one British girl’s school is so determined to prevent the distraction of vanity that they’ve removed all mirrors from the school building!
The pupils at Shelley College in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire won’t be needing any makeup coupons this school year, because the school has banned makeup entirely. The zero-tolerance policy mandates that students must be checked for maeup and teachers may distribute makeup removal kits to students who do not comply. The policy was put in place to prevent pupils from storming the restrooms at class breaks to primp, which was seen as counter to the institution’s lofty ideals.
‘There comes a point when you need to stop teachers spending half an hour in the day talking to girls about their make-up. It is more sensible to say it’s not allowed.,” said head teacher John McNally, who says that most parents and students have been supportive of the measure. ‘We removed the mirrors because there were a number of girls who were going in to the toilets at lunchtime and hanging around in there and eating their sandwiches.”
Apparently, the school first attempted to board up the mirrors, but girls tore the boards down to get around the ban and the mirrors were then uninstalled altogether.
Some pupils, however, are not in favor of the ban.
“Before the ban I’d wear foundation, mascara and eyeliner, now I don’t wear any. It is a bit unfair, I do believe too much make-up can be a distraction but so too can too little,” said student Emily Stonehouse, 14. However, students have noted that the bathrooms are less crowded now that they no longer need makeup coupons.
“When the mirrors were taken away, it seemed a bit extreme,” said Rebecca Mannifield, 14, said: ‘It’s okay that we’re all in it together, you realize nobody is no prettier or uglier, we all just look normal.”
