LONDON (AP) — Boys at a British high school have found a novel way around strict uniform rules banning shorts, as the country swelters through a heatwave.

The schoolboys at Isca Academy in the southwestern city of Exeter donned skirts instead of the officially mandated gray slacks.

Photos in British media show the boys wearing short-sleeved white shirts, school ties and the gray and white plaid skirts that the girls wear.

Devon County Council spokesman David Beasley says about 30 boys turned up to school in skirts on Thursday, when temperatures dropped to a cool 20 degrees Celsius (68F) after days of much hotter weather. None of the skirted students was punished.

The school's headteacher, Aimee Mitchell, says in a statement that the school is doing its utmost "to enable both students and staff to remain as comfortable as possible."