'Hundreds' of girls were sent home from their first day back at a school in Swanscombe - because their skirts were deemed too short.

The Ebbsfleet Academy, in Southfleet Road, was labelled "irresponsible" for turning away girls at the school gate, with one parent claiming the school is "letting kids down".

The secondary school's website specifies that girls can wear a navy A-line skirt "of a suitable length for school that is no more than 5cm above the knee".

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But mum Kim O'Brien claimed her 15-year-old daughter was turned away along with "about 200" other girls on their first day back on Tuesday, January 3, in a post uploaded to Facebook.

The community nurse said: "The school sent letters home before Christmas asking us to check that our daughters' skirts weren't more than five centimetres above the knee.

"My daughter turned up to school today in her old school skirt, which she's never had a problem with before, and they told her to stand to one side and wouldn't let her in.

"There's nothing wrong with her skirt, it's sensible and the right length - she came in a minute ago and it isn't that short.

"When I contacted the school, they said they'd sent her away with a letter about how she could come in and change her skirt but they just left them outside.

"They should have let them in rather than just leaving them on the street.

"I've looked at some of the girls outside and there are some girls in very short skirts but she isn't one of them.

"According to some of the kids they sent away about 200 pupils."

Ms O'Brien said the school is letting down less well-off pupils, and believes it is unsafe to leave children wandering the streets.

She said the academy has failed in its duty of care to vulnerable children, particularly those who may have nowhere else to go.

The mum-of-three added: "They're letting their pupils down by turning them away, they're shutting the gates in their faces for silly reasons.

"I'm very angry - school is a place where these kids should be able to feel safe, they just want to go to school.

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Pupils outside the school yesterday 

"There are a lot of children in the community who will have had a c**p Christmas, they're very vulnerable and don't have things like heating and now the school are turning them away.

"What if they get run over, raped or attacked?

"It's bitterly cold and kids who can't get home will be left on the streets."

She has now complained to the school, but says that because they are an academy, she has struggled to get any answers.

Ms O'Brien claims her requests for a meeting with the governors was refused, and that there is no-one accountable to parents when things do go wrong.

She said: "I've sent a lot of emails complaining, but because they're an academy, they're a business.

"They're not governed by the county council, so who is really in charge?

"When this happened before, I sent an email to school saying I wanted a meeting with governor and was refused.

"I pay my tax for my child to go to school and I just don't know who is responsible for things."

The school has previously come under fire for sending home five per cent of pupils at the beginning of September for rule infringements such as drawing on eyebrows and coloured shoe tags.

Ms O'Brien said her daughter was also turned away last year because her bag was too small - despite it fitting all her books and stationery.

She added: "A similar thing happened last summer as well when they issued a uniform change during the holidays regarding bags.

"I had checked on the Sunday night, before she went back to school, what the rules were, and it said any plain navy bag as long as it could hold everything.

"I bought her one which fitted that description and she was sent home.

"I'm sure my complaints will fall on deaf ears again."

The Ebbsfleet Academy have been contacted for comment.