UK boys protest dress code in heatwave by wearing skirts

A group of UK boys have protested not being able to wear shorts during a recent heatwave by wearing skirts.

About 30 boys from Isca academy in Exeter attended school in borrowed tartan skirts after the school knocked back requests to wear shorts, The Guardian UK reports.

The boys had previously protested the dress code that allowed girls to enjoy the cool relief of having bare legs, and the school playfully suggested the boys don skirts also – a suggestion they decided to take literally on Thursday.

With temperatures rising as high as 35C across large swathes of Europe earlier this week, many of the boys even shaved their legs for the occasion.

Although the boy’s act of rebellion received widespread media attention, none of them were punished for their decision, according to Devon county council.

The school’s head teacher Aimee Mitchell told the Guardian that while shorts are not part of the school’s dress code, she is willing to “consider a change for the future”.

Europe has sizzled in a continent-wide heatwave, with London seeing Britain's hottest June day since 1976 and Portugal battling ongoing deadly forest fires.