Girls given legal right to wear trousers in schools in Northern Ireland

Connie, who has been wearing trousers to school for a number of years now, is also the president of the Secondary Students' Union of Northern Ireland.

"I really enjoyed wearing them," she said, adding: "especially in the winter months".

"I'm so happy that there's now legislation that all girls will be able to."

There are already laws on school uniform in Northern Ireland, and Givan had previously said they give girls the legal authority to challenge their schools. Education committee members, however, had called on the minister to go further.

Some assembly members have now accused the minister of making a "U-turn", with "substantial sums of public money" spent on drafting legislation "to fix his error of judgement".

It comes after assembly members passed a new law last year, aimed at addressing the cost of school uniforms in Northern Ireland - with these updated guidelines on wearing trousers now legally binding under the School Uniforms Act.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show, Givan said the change would come into immediate effect ahead of the next academic year.

"I don't need to go through the assembly to give effect to this," he said.

"Today, I am taking that decision, that will be formally communicated, schools will be hearing from me, and as of the next academic year...schools will be required that this has to be available if it is requested upon."

The minister explained that this change will not apply during the 2026/27 academic year, in order to allow schools to change their uniform policies.

Givan added that the change will also apply to physical education.

In a statement, Alliance's education spokesperson, and chair of the Education Committee, Nick Mathison also described the decision as a "U-turn".

"I want to thank all of the young campaigners who have been bravely raising their voices about this, and whose dedication will lead to seeing this wrong righted," he said.

"The committee will be doing their full due diligence to guarantee the wording used in this update will ensure all girls are granted the right to wear trousers as part of their school uniform."

Mathison added: "Minister Givan will have to explain why he took so long to move on this issue. Substantial sums of public money have been spent on drafting legislation to fix his error of judgement, and we have said all along that he could have avoided this with the stroke of a pen."

A statement published on the Department of Education website said: "The guidelines issued today stipulate that school uniform policies for the 2027/28 school year onwards must include the option for girls to wear trousers throughout the school year, including for PE and Games.

"The guidelines are legally binding under the School Uniforms Act which came into operation earlier this year."

It added: "The Act is designed to help reduce the cost of school uniforms and ensure that affordability, comfort, practicality and sustainability are at the centre of school uniform policies."