School Uniform

[AllSeeingEye123]

Now this is something I can support.....

https://www.archive.is/https://www....traditional-uniform-repressive-abolished.html

When I was at school we could wear what we wanted at primary school and then at middle and high schools just buy the school tie to wear with the usual like black trousers and white shirt. This day and age is crazy with schools all selling overpriced branded clothing to fleece parents who have no choice but to buy it. All the kids look like clones of each other all dressed the same like they are in prison or something. I don't think it should be free for all to look a scruff turning up to school in clothes with holes in or marks on them. However letting all kids dress to show their own identity (smartly) and parents not having to worry about branded overpriced clothes they soon grow out of is a very good thing. All through the 11 years of school pupils should be able to dress how they are comfortable.

 

[Kinvarra]

It’s interesting isn’t it as I believe uniforms were initially about just that - uniformity. So the old haves and have nots issue was manageable. But it always showed itself in shoes, trainers, coats ...bags (I went to school an extremely long time ago and had a mother who Would Not play the label or brand game). So I suppose it was about limiting where people could flash their status.

It’s not repressive for children to wear a uniform though. That is lol. It’s ok to learn sometimes there are protocols you follow to participate in the world.

 

[Funsizes]

I do support school uniforms but they should be simple, affordable and comfortable. This is purely based on my own experience teaching but even mufti day can be distressing for pupils, on more than one occasion I've seen tears because of it. I couldn't put up with that every day LOL

One thing I definitely don't agree with though is the focus on uniform standards like top button done up, tie perfect, shirt tucked in... it's never bothered me and I don't like to waste time on policing it.

 

[JoeBloggs]

I don’t. I think all kids should wear a uniform but basic nothing with logos or from specialist shops.

Kids will always comment on other kids, I remember having comments on my shoes and bag. So where do you draw the line over ‘designer’ clothes, to some M&S is high end etc.

I think all kids should be in grey/black trousers/skirts/shorts. White polo and a coloured jumper/cardigan. Easy to pick up from the supermarket etc and then there is no comparison between them all. Kids should be aware of the difference between school and home and the behaviours needed. I know I feel a lot more professional in work clothes instead of jeans.

 

[StormSolitaire]

I’ve not got kids but if my school was anything to go by, the kids were very judgmental when it was an own clothes day/school trip. It exceeded class and financial boundaries too- the word was ‘uncool’. The posh kids dressed sensibly but with dear labels like Berghaus for geography field trips and the working class cool kids didn’t care about brands but had to dress like a 21 year old in heels, short skirts etc. I got laughed at for wearing c&a and one day I took my PE kit in in a Miss Selfridge carrier bag and they said ‘I bet she robbed the bag from the bins at the back of the shop’. God I hated my schooldays.

 

[Ohflogoff]

I’ve not got kids but if my school was anything to go by, the kids were very judgmental when it was an own clothes day/school trip. It exceeded class and financial boundaries too- the word was ‘uncool’. The posh kids dressed sensibly but with dear labels like Berghaus for geography field trips and the working class cool kids didn’t care about brands but had to dress like a 21 year old in heels, short skirts etc. I got laughed at for wearing c&a and one day I took my PE kit in in a Miss Selfridge carrier bag and they said ‘I bet she robbed the bag from the bins at the back of the shop’. God I hated my schooldays.

Kids are bleeping horrible sometimes

 

[Sayitso]

I think uniform is a good idea, though it I thought it was so kids all had the same, you couldn’t tell who didn’t have the latest labels, but these days school uniform is so expensive, everything’s got the school badge on, can only be bought from a specific supplier, it’s a bigger pressure on some families than it should be

 

[Sazie1]

I’ve not got kids but if my school was anything to go by, the kids were very judgmental when it was an own clothes day/school trip. It exceeded class and financial boundaries too- the word was ‘uncool’. The posh kids dressed sensibly but with dear labels like Berghaus for geography field trips and the working class cool kids didn’t care about brands but had to dress like a 21 year old in heels, short skirts etc. I got laughed at for wearing c&a and one day I took my PE kit in in a Miss Selfridge carrier bag and they said ‘I bet she robbed the bag from the bins at the back of the shop’. God I hated my schooldays.

I hate things like this. its so mean.
I’m from The Netherlands so we don’t have uniforms. Luckily I never experienced it that people where mean about brands and clothes. I was bullied because of other things. The bullying about clothes and brands never was a huge thing at my school.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

My old secondary school now requires that you buy specific skirts and trousers with the logo on which are of course more expensive than a pack of 2 from Tesco. When I went there you could wear what ever skirt/trousers you wanted as long as they were grey and skirts were a certain length. Even the pe kit is all school branded now, it’s ridiculous and I don’t understand the point of having to have the logo on everything. Seems to be some weird dick wave from the school if you ask me.

Also think primaries that make the kids wear a shirt and tie rather than a polo shirt are ridiculous too. Funnily enough my old primary was like this but now they allow polo shirts. duck it I don’t see why secondary school kids can’t wear polo’s either, much more comfortable.

Im not particularly for/against uniform - many countries don’t bother with it and cope fine, but if we’re going to have one it should be affordable, practical and not pretentious. They are children, not little business people.

 

[Definitelyme]

I think uniform is a good idea. Lots and lots of jobs require a uniform of some sort, even just a basic dress code, so it is something that follows through life, not just in schools.

My kids school sells branded everything, but I only buy the jumpers, and everything else is just from Tesco/Asda which makes it very affordable. If I had to kit them out in enough clothes to do every single day at school it would be much more expensive.

I do worry about their teenage years and school uniform, as I know that’s where it can get very pricey, and we will have 4 to kit out.

 

[threeSMEGfridges]

I think uniforms are good in general however the "everything must be school branded at 3x the price" insistence is ridiculous. School logo jumper or blazer and tie, fine, but let parents buy generic shirts trousers and skirts for goodness sakes.

 

[Sazie1]

What are the prices of school uniforms btw? I always hear that it can be really expensive?

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

What are the prices of school uniforms btw? I always hear that it can be really expensive?

Supermarket school uniform is generally cheap in my experience, you can get a 5 pack of polo shirts for around £6 for example. My kids primary aren’t bothered about logos so we can get pretty much everything from asda/Sainsbury’s. A single polo shirt with the school logo on would cost around £10.

It’s the logo stuff that costs more and if your school requires it then that’s where it starts to get expensive as you can’t get those from the supermarket. It’s usually secondary schools that are guilty of this but it’s not unheard of at primary level too.

 

[Sazie1]

Supermarket school uniform is generally cheap in my experience, you can get a 5 pack of polo shirts for around £6 for example. My kids primary aren’t bothered about logos so we can get pretty much everything from asda/Sainsbury’s. A single polo shirt with the school logo on would cost around £10.

It’s the logo stuff that costs more and if your school requires it then that’s where it starts to get expensive as you can’t get those from the supermarket. It’s usually secondary schools that are guilty of this but it’s not unheard of at primary level too.

Thank you for answering this! so it also depends on which school your kids are going.
I feel bad for the children that are going to a school that want them to have the uniform with a logo and where the parents can’t afford it. School shouldn’t be a thing that costs a lot of money.

 

[DanaScully]

It's ludicrous how expensive some school uniforms are, especially for parents with multiple children.

I went to a comprehensive so we had a pretty bog standard uniform, but some of the other local Catholic schools had very specific uniforms that had different colours for each year group and wool blazers with the school logo embroidered that cost a fortune.

I do think uniform is important at school and I think there should also be rules to stop children wearing designer bags, coats and shoes/trainers at school as for me this defeats the purpose of the uniform. Where I live people are really into designer clothing so I imagine it must be so hard for children whose families can't afford it.

The only thing I disagree with regarding uniform is that when I was in school we had to keep our blazers on at all times which I still think was a stupid rule. It could be 30°C at the height of summer and some teachers wouldn't let us take them off!

 

[Hodgies]

I'm a big fan of a uniform for school but not a fan of branded, expensive uniforms.

My children at primary have the choice of shirt and tie or polo shirt and plain jumper. Branded polo shirts are available but not essential, same with blazers. I personally like a shirt and tie but they tend to only wear them for photographs or of representing the school at something where they need to be smart. Sports clothes are whatever they want but if representing the school, they are provided with a school kit. Shoes they would prefer black/no trainers etc but they don't insist on it.

Secondary is more strict I have to say but even then it's fairly affordable. They insist on shirt and tie (but school provides the tie when they join) and everything else is plain white shirt, black trousers/skirt etc. They do want them in blazers but have gone for lightweight ones and had a reduction in cost for the first one and it was under £40 from memory. Unless mine has a massive growth spurt (which could happen!) then he's likely to get 2 or 3 years out of it then it'll pass onto his brother. They also want proper black shoes not trainers but aren't militant about it. They're trying to get a branded PE shirt but it's not been fully rolled out yet, that has to be paid for I think. They get good take up for the full uniform and have a wide spectrum of pupils from all backgrounds so it must work for them.

 

[Medusah80]

What are the prices of school uniforms btw? I always hear that it can be really expensive?

my daughter started high school in Sept 2020 her uniform cost us £250, blazer alone was £48 (she lost it after 2 weeks so has to replace)
tie £6
school jumper £13 then there was the cost of the P.E. Kit,tracksuit, 3 different p.e. tshirts.
When she was in primary school,I used to get her uniform from either Aldi or Lidl for under £20

 

[Lizzie Mintdrop]

I think uniform is a good idea but the way schools are now is overzealous. Excluding children for wearing the wrong black shoes just goes too far. I worked in a high end solicitor's office and our clothes weren't scrutinised to anywhere near the degree school children are now. The main reason for uniform was to ensure that children from low income families didn't feel excluded, however, when uniforms cost far more than is reasonable it is no longer serving its purpose. When I was at secondary school, our uniform had to be purchased at a particular shop and our jumper cost £38 in 1990 which was absolutely ridiculous, I no longer remember the full cost of the uniform but we had to have the whole shebang, skirt, shirt, tie and PE kit from that shop. My mum bought my uniform big so I got a few years out of it, when I finally needed a new jumper the school had started selling them and the replacement cost £20 so the shop must have been making some profit.

 

[Meh]

These prices are outrageous!

When I was in high school we didn’t have to wear uniform. The policy was for uniform but it wasn’t a great school and wasn’t enforced. It was the goody-goodies who wore uniform. My teachers remarks used to infuriate me though; I was still top of my classes with exception of Maths, because... well... . They used to haul me out once a week to scream about how I wouldn’t pass my exams... because I was in jeans/trainers. Wtf. Left with As and went to Uni.

Now, as an adult, I can appreciate where a uniform policy comes in useful. Reducing bullying over financial status. However, don’t tell lies that a person is unemployable and will not pass exams. When clearly that has nothing to do with attainment.

 

[Tublet83]

I don’t have time to negotiate with 7 year over what to wear in a morning I’m all for uniform!