US school principal bans kilt

When Nathan Warmack wore a Scottish kilt to a high school dance in Jackson, Missouri, the student wasn’t trying to make a point. He just wanted to honour his heritage.

But then a principal told him to change into a pair of trousers, and what began with a few yards of tartan has sparked a debate about freedom, symbols and cultural dress.

More than 1,600 people have signed an internet petition seeking an apology for the student.

“It’s a kilt. It’s going to turn heads, but I never believed it would have become what it is,” Warmack said.

Warmack said his interest in his family’s Scottish ties was sparked by Mel Gibson’s 1995 movie Braveheart.

He bought a kilt on the internet to wear to his school’s formal Silver Arrow dance. Warmack claims the principal then ordered him to change, saying: “This is my dance and I’m not going to have students coming into it looking like clowns.”

McClard later said he had no recollection of saying that.