Worries about high staff attrition, repeated school uniform changes and mental health and support at Falmouth School were among the issues raised at a forum for parents on Thursday.

Parents met with headteacher Brett Miners and assistant headteacher Philippa Iles at Boslowick Barbers for a forum, on neutral ground, to discuss concerns over the school and to work towards solutions.

While parents were issued with tickets to talk to Mr Miners, Mrs Iles stood in front of the group to address any questions or concerns.

Many had been angry at what they see as another costly uniform change - the third in recent years, which will require all pupils to wear school branded trousers or skirts which cost £16 to £18 from one specific retailer - which had been brought in without any consultation.

Mrs Iles explained the school had been approached by parents who bought the "wrong" black trousers which did not fit school policy, and creating trousers with logos meant all parents now knew what they had to buy.

She said the school had consulted on a recent full uniform change, and when asked why it had not also consulted on the new trousers said "all I can do is... apologise."

And she reminded parents that there was financial support available for those that need it, saying "no student should be disadvantaged."

However one parent said their child was "petrified" and "in tears she might be told she's got the wrong haircut, the wrong trousers" and end up with a C3 - a one hour school detention.

They said as long as children were "pressed and dressed" in black trousers and proper uniform it shouldn't matter where the clothes came from, and accused the school of "creating this problem."

Another said the school should offer logos to be stitched onto new or existing trousers to reduce costs, while another asked how long the uniform will stay the same. Mrs Iles said there should be no more policy changes, and the school could look into separate logos.

Asked: "If we were to say no to these trousers, will our children be excluded," Mrs Iles replied "I can't say."

Speaking about attrition rates, one topic on which she would not answer questions, Mrs Iles said staff "can't be forced" to stay, "whatever may be your belief or whatever reasons they make."

She said: "Staff leave and make lifestyle choices, they may leave for other reasons but that's not our choice."

Parents said that teachers had been leaving mid-term, with no replacements for "months on end" or replacements who "had no idea."

Mrs Iles replied: "We try our very best to employ the best teachers.

"We try our very, very best to keep teachers and to re-employ. We give our staff really good benefits... but it's sometimes tough if they make choices to leave."

Parents also asked why communication between the school and parents had "broken down", with calls not returned, and the guaranteed response within 24 hours often little more than a courtesy email.

Mrs Iles said all calls should be returned by a teacher within 24 hours, and if they are not parents should ask to speak to the headteacher's PA.

Parents said children were being demoralised due to a lack of feedback on homework, feeling it was not even looked at. Mrs Iles responded that she would look into "closing the circle" of communication, so that any homework set would receive feedback.

On the topic of pupils' mental health, Mrs Iles said she felt it was important that children were "resilient," telling parents "we can't solve all the issues but we can create mental health resilience."

She said schools in Cornwall were working with mental health project Head Start, and "that money is coming in," but it was happening at different schools at different times and had yet to reach Falmouth School.

She added that the school had been contacted by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), asking for space in the school for supporting children, as it had lost its space at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

And parents praised the support for children in the lower school, but said girls in the upper years needed "someone who is female" to talk to, and Mrs Iles replied that the school was in the process of filling such a role. And she added in the next year staff would be undergoing a Thrive training programme to improve mental health care.

Speaking after the meeting, organiser Sarrelle McCann said parents had told her it was a "very good, positive thing."

She added: "A lot of parents thought it was constructive."

However, one parent at the meeting asked why Mr Miners had not stood up to address parents himself, with Mrs Iles dealing with the group as he held one-to-one discussions.