New subject for girls aged 11... choosing your bra! School plans to introduce lessons to make sure they fit correctly

Girls at a school in Derby will get help choosing their first bra from September (picture posed by model)

It has traditionally been a mother’s duty to guide their daughter when the time comes for her to choose her first bra.



But this special milestone is now threatening to become a subject for classroom discussion - after a school revealed plans to introduce lessons in bra fitting.



The independent Derby High School - part of the largest group of Church of England schools in the country - yesterday announced that, from September, girls as young as 11 will be taught how to ensure a bra correctly fits them, with the aid of a mannequin.



Topics for discussion will include the anatomy of the breast, the best bra designs for pupils to wear for support and how cup sizes and measurements can vary wildly between brands and lingerie store fitters.



But Stephen Green, director of campaign group Christian Voice, said the school was attempting to ‘solve a problem that doesn’t exist’.



He added: ‘These lessons are a total waste of school time, covering something which the pupils’ mothers are perfectly able to handle.



‘The children are going to be at different stages of development. We all know how self-conscious young girls can be about their bodies and those who are not as well developed as their classmates may well feel singled out as a result of these lessons.’



The lessons, along with wider discussions on breast health and development, will be incorporated into the school’s personal health and social education (PHSE) lessons.

The classes will include lessons on bra fitting from teacher Karan Hopkinson, who has attended a bra-fitting course and achieved bra-fitting accreditation as part of her preparation for the new role.



Mrs Hopkinson, 45, said she was inspired to introduce the lessons after her own teenage daughter’s feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment when the time came for her to be fitted for a bra.



Mrs Hopkinson, the school’s primary curriculum leader, described bra fitting as a ‘life skill all girls should have’.



She added: ‘Breast health and bra-fitting is a very sensitive subject for young girls who all develop at different rates and it is important that it’s a positive experience, because insecurities developed at a young age can be taken into adulthood. It’s about teaching the importance of a good fit, and how to make sure a bra fits you correctly.



‘Feedback from our sixth-formers strongly suggested that a lesson on this subject would have been really informative and stopped many of them worrying.’ The 600-pupil school, based at Littleover, outside Derby, prides itself on being the top performing school in Derbyshire. It is thought it will be the first in the country to deliver lessons on the subject.



From September the subject will be taught once or twice a year to girls aged 11 to 14 during the weekly PHSE lessons. A teen-friendly booklet on the subject written by Mrs Hopkinson will be made available to the girls.

The independent Derby High School will include lessons on bra fitting from a teacher who has achieved bra-fitting accreditation

Around 80 per cent of Britain’s females, said Mrs Hopkinson, have never received formal bra-fitting guidance meaning mothers have little or no advice to give to daughters.



She said in some households breast and bra issues were ‘taboo’, resulting in girls having no one to talk to about the subjects.



Although breast cancer won’t be part of the curriculum, girls will be able to address any concerns they may have in one-to-one sessions with Mrs Hopkinson. All lessons will be ‘age appropriate’, she said.



Chris McGovern, a former private school head who is chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said the lessons indicated a growing ‘dependency culture’ in Britain. He added: ‘This school seems to be suggesting it needs to step in because parents can no longer do their jobs.



‘Schools would be better focussing their attention on academic subjects or sports than straying into the territory of parents.’



Derby High School’s plans come a week after the Daily Mail reported how a survey of 18 primary schools in Kent found 24 children who did not know how to use the toilet and were still in nappies.



In the past, schools have also complained about having to teach reception pupils how to use a knife and fork.



Derby High School was founded in 1892 and accepts boys and girls between 3 and 11. Its senior age groups are girl only. Annual fees range from £7,380 to £10,920 depending on the year group.



At its most recent inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2010, praised the good achievement rate of pupils and said teaching was ‘predominantly good and sometimes excellent’. Inspectors noted that the ‘personal development of pupils was outstanding’.



The day school is part of the Woodard Corporation, which was founded by Anglican priest Nathaniel Woodard in 1847. It owns or is affiliated to 41 state and independent schools across the country.

