Matravers School in Westbury defended its policy of issuing ID lanyards to pupils wearing incorrect uniform this week, after receiving several complaints from parents.

Parents took to Facebook page Spotted Westbury to express their anger about the school’s decision to issue the lanyards with ‘wrong uniform’ written on them, after pupils returned from the summer break last week.

One parent said her daughter was given a lanyard to wear after being told her black canvas shoes were incorrect. She added: “This was embarrassing and humiliating for my child.”

Others condemned the move as “unacceptable”, “disgusting” and a “form of bullying”. In the first few days of term 15 children were issued with ID lanyards.

The school governors decided last term they wanted the school’s uniform policy to be “rigorously implemented”. The school said it has provided uniform for some students and “has contributed to purchasing uniform for some students where this has been raised with us as a concern”.

In a statement this week the school said: “Some students were sent home to correct the uniform infringe- ment and did so, returning to school. Some students were issued with lanyards. This ensured that all staff could easily see that students had been spoken to and that their incorrect uniform had been authorised for that day by the school.

“Only two parents/students are refusing to comply with the uniform policy by refusing to send their child to school in correct uniform.

“Matravers School has a culture of issuing lanyards and badges to students for a variety of reasons.”

At the end of the summer term the school sent out a newsletter to parents which made explicit reference on the front page to the “heightened expectations” for uniform for September, followed by a letter to parents and a guidance sheet on the specifics of the uniform expected for September.

The statement added: “We are delighted with the vast majority of students who wear their correct uniform with pride.”