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Pupils face tracking bugs
in school blazers
James Meikle
London
Guardian
Wednesday Aug 22, 2007
A school uniform maker said yesterday it was "seriously
considering" adding tracking devices to its clothes after
a survey found many parents would be interested in knowing where
their offspring were.
Trutex would not say whether it was studying a spy in the waistband
or a bug in the blazer but admitted teenagers were less keen than
younger children on the "big brother" idea.
The Lancashire company, which sells 1m blouses, 1.1m shirts,
250,000 pairs of trousers, 200,000 blazers, 60,000 skirts and
110,000 pieces of knitwear each year, commissioned an online survey
for 809 parents and 444 children aged between nine and 16. It
said 44% of the adults were worried about the safety of pre-teen
children and 59% would be interested in satellite tracking systems
being incorporated in schoolwear. While nearly four in 10 pupils
aged 12 and under were prepared to go along with the idea, teenagers
were more wary of "spying".
(Article continues below)
Clare Rix, the marketing director, said: "As well as being
a safety net for parents, there could be real benefits for schools
who could keep a closer track on the whereabouts of their pupils,
potentially reducing truancy levels.'
The announcement follows news that an Essex firm, BladeRunner,
used Kevlar, a synthetic fibre used in body armour, to line school
uniforms sent in by parents anxious about knife culture. Barry
Samms, a director, said the company was concentrating on its line
of stab-proof hooded tops, having sold about 1,500 of the £65
garment, mainly to over-30s, since launch earlier this year. The
company was now selling £120 tops to walkers and mountain-bikers
worried about barbed-wire snags.
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