'Bling' is banned at Felpham Community College

Mark Anstiss has moved swiftly to ensure pupils at the college leave excess jewellery at home.

His first step was to sweep away the old jewellery rules for pupils below the sixth form.

Boys and girls are now permitted only one plain gold or silver stud of less than three millimetres diameter in each ear. Rings, bracelets, chains, necklaces and piercings are banned.

Mr Anstiss said: "I want to keep things clear and simple. I don't believe in having a lot of rules. But the ones we have should be easy to understand so there is no confusion about them."

"I worked very closely with Pat Ashman, the acting headteacher last term, about how we could make the next step in the college's development.

"We thought jewellery was a good thing to focus on. We didn't want to make parents buy a lot of expensive uniforms, especially if their students were in Year 11 and had less than half a term left.

"And jewellery is easy to take off. The previous rules about jewellery were being inconsistently understood by the students and there was some confusion about what they could and could not wear. They were also being inconsistently applied by the staff.

"I have been delighted to say the new rule, which was agreed by the governors, has been really successfully. We have not made any exceptions. The 1,170 students it applies to have bought into it absolutely along with their parents.

"There are only two or three older girls where the issue has yet to be resolved '“ and it will be."

The next stage in Mr Anstiss' determination to get the basics right is to launch a new uniform in September. One of his assistant heads, Ben Phillips, is finding out the views of parents.

"The uniform rules that result will be clear to understand and universally apply across the college," he said.

"Students can be creative in the arts department, in drama, in music and in sport '“ and what they choose to wear away from the college is up to them '“ but not in the way they wear their uniform.

"The students are judged by the community on how they look. If they look smart and business-like, it fosters a sense of pride and belonging and gives a positive image for the college."

Married father-of-three Brighton resident Mr Anstiss, 44, arrived at the college last week.

He has been a teacher for 22 years. He grew up in Hounslow and studied for a biology degree at the University of Sussex between 1984-87.

He has worked in four schools, moving west as his career progressed to the point he is in charge of a 6m annual budget at Felpham college for teaching 1,350 pupils '“ including sixth formers '“ with 140 staff. Some 86 of them are teachers.

He has his sights set on raising academic standards using the skills of the teachers at the specialist maths and computing college. He sees a focus on PE, music, drama and art as essential to match the teaching of the basics to ensure pupils are able to develop careers in an age when technology can carry out many basic tasks.

"We can have all the innovative whiteboards, good ICT and lots of computers, but a good college is about more than that," he said.

"It's about inspiring students to find a skill and developing it so they can go further."