STINK bombs, spudguns, winkle-picker shoes... the story of schoolchildren bucking the system stretches back to when Adam was a lad.

The latest craze, it would appear, is to wear as many charity wristbands as possible.

Some students at Christopher Whitehead High School have predictably taken the craze to extremes, wearing as many as 10 at a time.

There's always one Tom or Thomasina Fool, isn't there?

Now, headteacher Neil Morris has introduced what appears to be a temporary ban.

It seems he doesn't want to bar them for ever and a day, just for a while.

The situation has become silly and the bands themselves proving to be too much of a distraction. It's also a uniform issue, too.

This newspaper's right behind him. Not because we're a bunch of killjoys, rather that we back the head's insistence that standards must be maintained.

Teenagers are addicted to fads and this is part of growing up. We don't have a problem with this. It's harmless enough in itself.

Nevertheless, these young people will soon be entering the adult world of work. And that is a wholly different ball game.

They will soon be discovering that the carefree days of do-as-you-please are soon forgotten, consigned to the dustbin along with duffle bags and rough books.

At the end of the day, Neil Morris is the boss. Better get used to it.