Boys will be allowed to wear skirts at one of the country’s leading boarding schools.

The headteacher of Uppingham School in Rutland, whose alumni include Stephen Fry and celebrity chef Rick Stein, said any boy asking to do so would find a sympathetic ear.

Richard Maloney, who joined the Uppingham in September 2016, said: “I would hope that any pupil could come to me and say, ‘This is who we are, this is how we wish to express ourselves. We want to wear these clothes’, and we would probably allow that.”

Mr Maloney told The Sunday Times that last year during inclusivity week, one boy had decided to wear a long skirt for a few days to make a point.

It comes as television doctor Christian Jessen, who spent three years at Uppingham, said he would “probably” have worn a skirt for its shock value had he been permitted to do so.

Dr Jessen said neutral uniforms would help move away from gender stereotypes, but warned against early medical intervention in the case of children who were experimenting with gender in adolescence.