Four-in-10 adults say boys and girls should be able to wear trousers or skirts to school, according to a survey.

Forty per cent of adults favour gender-neutral school uniforms as the UK begins the new academic year, said a report from pollster YouGov Omnibus.

This was the most popular option of four in a survey on school uniforms, reflecting a gradual shift towards more relaxed dress codes in schools.

The second most popular option was that girls should be allowed to wear either skirts or trousers but boys should only be allowed to wear trousers, which gained 31 per cent support.

Just 9 per cent of those asked backed a “traditional” school uniform policy of boys in trousers and girls in skirts, and only 7 per cent said that boys and girls should only be allowed to wear trousers, with no one wearing skirts.

Among school pupils aged between 6 to 15, girls were even more in favour of a shift towards gender neutral uniforms, with 47 per cent backing the move, compared to 37 per cent of boys.

Ben Glanville, head of Omnibus UK, said: “Our survey data indicates that parents and children both feel passionately about the subject, while it’s more likely for girls to think both genders should be able to wear trousers or skirts, there is still strong support from boys which shows that many are in favour of having the freedom to choose when it comes to their school uniform.”

The issue of gender neutral uniforms has gathered pace in recent years. Boys in a number of schools have made a series of high-profile protests, which has seen them wear skirts to school in hot weather to demonstrate their comfort.

In April, Uppingham School in Rutland, whose alumni include actor Stephen Fry and celebrity chef Rick Stein, said it would “probably allow” boys to wear skirts to the £36,000-a-year public school.

Last year, department store chain John Lewis said it would remove girls and boys labels from its uniforms as part of its bid to fight gender stereotyping