Too Cool For School of the Day: Springs Academy in Sheffield has banned students from using slang and “text speak” while on school grounds.

The academy says its students, mostly children from working-class families, stand a better chance of landing a job later in life if they learn to be less reliant on slang phrases early on.

The policy applies to such common colloquialisms as “cheers,” “hiya,” “ta” (thank you), and “soz” (sorry).

“What we want to make sure of is that they are confident in using standard English,” said Kathy August, deputy chief executive of the trust that runs the school. “Slang doesn’t really give the right impression of the person.”

But some, including South Yorkshire MP Angela Smith, a former English teacher, are wondering how the academy plans to enforce the ban — and whether they even should.

“I really think they have set themselves a task that is impossible to achieve,” Smith is quoted as saying. “Who is going to adjudicate? Who is going to say slang, dialect or accent? And which one is right and which one is wrong?”

If the school is truly interested in training kids for real-world situations, perhaps they should be encouraging slang usage. According to a recent survey, one in four Brits have admitted to using “text speak” in everyday conversations.

[telegraph.]