Students were reportedly left ‘freezing’ after school seized their coats simply because they weren’t branded like their uniform policy dictates.

Outraged parents have spoken out and slammed Bishop Heber High School in Malpas, England, after their children were left freeing on a cold day because their teachers confiscated their unbranded jackets.

According to the school’s policy, parents are required to pay nearly $150 on a set of four pieces of clothing including what one parent called an “incredibly thin” jacket.

Since some of the parents could not or did not want to invest in the branded clothes, the school began seizing their children’s coats, leaving the kids with no means of warming themselves up on cold days.

“They confiscated his [my son’s] coat yesterday – outside – which I thought was absolutely ludicrous. He has asthma, which he is on constant medication for, so getting cold does him no good whatsoever,” one angry mom said.

“Because he went and got his coat back because he was cold, he has been put into isolation, that was his punishment. Why would you take a coat off a child when you know they’ve got asthma?”

Another disgruntled parent insisted that the four-piece set was not only too expensive but also not warm enough despite being branded.

“They would literally have to have a branded polo, branded sweater, branded fleece and branded anorak in order to be warm and dry outside,” she said.

“Given Mike Amesbury’s law, that is extremely excessive branding – and I’ve never heard of another school having a branded outside coat before now.”

The school’s controversial uniform policy was also slammed by Mike Amesbury, a member of the parliament, who drafted a bill aimed to counter school policies that enforce branded uniforms that come along with hefty bills.

The rift between the school and the parents has widened after photos showing students wearing insufficient clothing have emerged.

As some parents insist, the school’s policy is responsible for making their children exposed to the cold. Others claimed that students who are not wearing branded items are being punished through demerit marks and detention.

According to some parents, the problem can also be in getting the branded items that the school requires in the first place.

“The branded windbreaker jacket that Heber insist on children wearing are not made any more as the company discontinued them. Kids are supposed to wear them over their fleece – which mine did until they grew out of them. Then we couldn’t replace them as you can no longer get hold of them,” one mother said.

“The branded fleece is great but not in cold weather. I think they were £25 each when I bought them. We have since had to purchase a smart black coat from a supermarket to go over the fleece so they can wear them to and from school, but only because the school one is not available anymore. We spent about £45 on each coat however my children are not allowed to wear them on school grounds.”

She added: “I have no problem with branded items but they need to be fit for purpose and available – and most of the time the branded items are not in stock or can take up to six months to arrive. This happened with the school jumpers last year.

“We have had some serious problems getting hold of the uniform as the kids grew. They’re only available from one shop and they are very slow at getting items in stock. Meanwhile my children receive detentions and isolation and demerit marks on their school records.”

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