A secondary school has banned girls from wearing skirts to accommodate the growing number of transgender pupils, and to deal with complaints over the "decency" of short skirts.

Priory School in Lewes, east Sussex has changed its uniform policy so that all new Year 7 students must wear trousers.

Tony Smith, the school's headmaster, said he bought in the change because pupils had been questioning why the uniform ascribed certain garments to boys and others to girls.