School Bans Pupils From Using Slang Such As ‘That’s Long’, ‘Bare’ + More

Ark All Saints Academy, Camberwell, south London, has banned it’s students from using slang such as “bare” and “that’s long”.

According to the school various slang terms have been “showing up in a lot in pupils’ work” which prompted the hierarchy to take action.

Expressions that can not be used in work include: “He cut his eyes at me”, “That’s a neck”, “That’s long”, “Oh my days”, “Oh my God”, “Bare”, “Cuss” & “Wow”.

Students have also been prohibited from starting sentences with the following terms: “Errrrm”, “Because”, “No”, “Like”, “Say”, “You see”, “You know” & “Basically”.

In what the school’s headteacher, Lucy Frame, described as a way to “help students understand the importance of expressing themselves clearly and accurately” pupils have been told to not draw from the heavy list of colloquialism’s.

She explained that, “the development of reading and speaking skills is a central part of what drives our school to help our students learn effectively and fulfil their potential in academic and non-academic ways

The spectrum of the ban seems to solely confined to the classroom and formal educational settings as students can continue use them on the playground.

“None of the words or phrases listed are banned from general use in our school or when our students are interacting socially,” staff confirmed.

Dr Marcello Giovanelli, a senior lecturer in English language and literature at Aston University, said: “Slang has always been at the forefront of linguistic innovation.”

He added that the slang being used is “wonderfully creative” and that “dismissing students home or own use of language may have negative effects on identity and confidence.”