The condom dress that was banned from a Catholic school art show
Trinity School pupil Meg Todd spent four months working on an art project that was to culminate in a fashion show at the school last Thursday evening. The theme was 'contagion', so Meg made a dress out of condoms. A picture of the dress. MHLC-13-02-12 Condom dress Feb45
A CATHOLIC school in Leamington banned a GSCE pupil from taking part in a show because she chose to use a contraceptive device in her work.
Meg Todd had spent four months working on the exam piece – a dress made out of condoms – after her art teacher at Trinity School told pupils to create a project based on the theme ‘contagion’.
The teenager, along with another pupil who also incorporated condoms in her work, had not been advised by the school’s art department that it was inappropriate.
But the day before the class were to display their pieces at a fashion show, headteacher Jim Ferguson told Meg she could not take part.
Her mother Nicola Todd said: “My daughter is devastated. All this work has been building up to the show. She was going to walk up the catwalk. She has worked so hard on this piece and it’s relevant to the subject title.”
Mrs Todd said she “begged” Dr Ferguson to reconsider and suggested that the school ban photographs being taken of Meg’s dress.
She said: “It’s a Catholic school but it is also a school. It’s so ridiculous. I don’t know if she is still able to submit her piece as exam work.”
Mrs Todd pointed out that it was only last month that Dr Ferguson’s personal assistant was discovered to be advertising herself as an ‘escort’ online.
She said: “This is a man whose judgement led him to hire such a woman as his personal assistant and now he is making the students suffer.
“I feel like he is coming down on everybody because of that situation. It was his decision to hire her.”
Dr Ferguson said: “I decided that the design was not inkeeping with our ethos.
“I am aware that Meg put a lot of work into it and it was a very difficult decision to make, but I had to make it in the best interests of the school.”
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Weather for Leamington
Tuesday 18 June 2013
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