Family First applauds west Auckland school’s ball dress code

Stuff co.nz 25 May 2016
Family First has congratulated an Auckland school on setting a dress code for its upcoming school ball, and says students who don’t agree should stay home.
National Director Bob McCoskrie said Auckland’s St Dominics School was “completely appropriate and within their rights” in enforcing high standards in their students’ dress code.
The school has been the subject of an online petition calling on the Catholic girls school to rethink its no-cleavage, no-backless-dresses code for their school ball.
“Dressing modestly is a good thing and it is completely appropriate for schools to be promoting this expectation at a function for teenagers,” McCoskrie said.
He contrasted the move with a Bay of Plenty high schools’ decision to give out condoms and safe sex advice in a school ball package back in 2010.
St Dominics Catholic College principal Carol Coddington said the rules weren’t severe, and no girls had been told they couldn’t wear their dresses because they violate the ball’s dress code.
The petition said the rules were “shocking, sexist and extremely outdated”.
But Coddington said a photo being used to represent a banned dress was “misrepresenting” the actual case.
“The age of most of our students is under 18 years old. The rules we put around the ball reflect that and the school’s responsibility for its students,” she said.
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