A 13-year old girl was taken out of class and not allowed to talk or go out for break after being told her shorts were too short.

Thorpe St Andrew High School pupil Lauren Pearson was put in time-out referral on Wednesday morning after being told her tailored shorts were not long enough.

This shocked her mum Helen Kirkham who said that her daughter had been wearing the shorts since Easter.

Mother-of-four Miss Kirkham said she bought the tailored shorts especially after a letter was sent warning parents of a uniform crackdown.

She said: 'We spent the entire day in the city and went round every single shop trying to find something acceptable to wear as shorts.'

She said that after the Easter holiday Lauren checked the shorts with a teacher, who said the length of them was okay.

'I took it very seriously as I did not want her to get into trouble at school,' said Miss Kirkham, 35.

She said that she did not have a problem with the school, but found it 'very random' that her daughter's shorts had landed her in such trouble.

'If she was disruptive in the class then I would have fully supported the school in putting her in isolation, as she would need to be away from everyone else,' she said.

By Wednesday afternoon Lauren had changed into longer shorts and was back with her classmates.

Head teacher Ian Clayton said that the time-out referral could be used for a number of reasons and that the school's uniform policy was very clear and consistent.

He said: 'In this particular incident the girl was saying she felt it was reasonable and the teacher said it was not.

'It was disruptive so she was sent to the time-out referral and the moment she got there we contacted her parents.'