By Angela Gregory and Theresa Garner
What schools really, really, want is Spice Girl shoes left at home.
The built-up sneakers inspired by the girl group might turn heads, but their propensity to turn heels is seeing them banned in some schools.
St Francis Xavier School in Whangarei has banned the shoes in
favour of flat-soled lace-ups.
Schools have not reported any major injuries so far, but one Auckland principal said parents were irresponsible to let their daughters loose in the "silly platform jelly shoes," which could have a sole up to 60mm high.
Glenfield's Marlborough Primary School has stopped short of banning the shoes, but principal Chris Wargent said the "ankle-rollers" would not be allowed during sports or fitness.
She suspected parents were coming under pressure to buy the trendy footwear, and they did not want to buy another pair of practical sneakers too. "Please send your children to school in practical, comfortable shoes," she asked parents in a newsletter this week.
Pupil Noeline Tate, however, won't be giving up her cool shoes. "I like them. My stepmum has some as well.
"They make you higher. They are comfortable, and easy to wear."
Fellow student Alexandra Pennycuick, who does not own any platforms, said her mother had told her she would break her ankle or hurt her back. "I told her, 'You used to wear ones that high'," Alexandra said.
However, most platform owners admitted turning their heels at least once.
Chiropractors say there has been little discussion on the phenomenon sweeping playgrounds.
Dr Graham Dobson said platform styles with high heels were bad for backs.
"Any time you elevate the heel as opposed to the sole, you change the angle of the joints in relation to gravity. Footwear is supposed to be flexible, because feet are."
The School Trustees Association believes built-up shoes are not practical and its president, Owen Edgerton, commended the schools that had advised parents of the dangers.
But the principal of Whangarei Girls' High School, Lyn Sneddon, suggested the girls themselves might vote with their feet.
"We did have a few wearing them but the practicalities of life outweighed fashion. A couple wobbled up the steps and around the school, but in the end took them off."
