A SCHOOL has defended a new policy that saw more than 100 pupils disciplined in one day for taking off their blazers in class or checking mobile phones in corridors.

Clacton Coastal Academy headteacher Stephanie Neill said the measures were part of the school’s mission to drive up standards and boost employment chances.

Pupils were given advance warning of the policy change, but new rules it coincided with a mini heatwave, leaving some pupils in trouble when they took off their blazers without permission.

Mrs Neill said more than 100 pupils had received one-hour detentions on the first day, mostly for phone-related breaches, but numbers have dropped.

She said: “We recognise we are in a town where employment is a challenge.”