Do all private schools require girls to wear skirts/dresses?

happy- um did I hit a nerve?! Sorry but I do think you're being a tiny bit disingenuous. Everybody in Winchester knows that the gangs of boys in suits'n'ties, Gieves an' all, wandering the lower reaches of town are from Winchester College, don't they? They don't wear jeans and sweatshirts, do they?

At risk of outing myself, my dd wears the boys' uniform rather than the pinafore and tights she should wear. She also has a cap not a hat. Her choice, and the Head was totally unfazed. She looks like Just William, but with better hair.

no choice but to wear skirts

I think many things (boaters etc) that look cute on 5 year olds don't really work on older children, but re OP's point, tights are just as warm (if not warmer) than trousers. School trousers for girls are generally vile anyway.
We had no choice to wear skirts at my school, but since there were no boys the 'looking up skirts' issue was non-existent.
I cannot get over a school making pupils wear red dungarees though, tell me it's just for infants?!

"attending medical appointments (with Matron)" the last time my DS did that he wore jeans!

Oh and I nearly forgot a charity shop tie for £1 although it was a brand new Gieves and Hawkes one!

No tweed suits at my DS school! Least I haven't been asked to but one! Or a tweed jacket either just a bog standard dark blazer/dark trousers from John Lewis and M and S shirts!

LittenTree re: Godolphin Prep in Salisbury your right just looked it up those smocks may look cute on 5 yr olds but completely ridiculous on 13 yrs olds!!! There's boaters as well God help us can someone out there tell me what is point of making children wear boaters? And schools that make children wear those things hanging out of your socks what is that point of that?

happy ye-e-e-s, but I think it's a bit odd seeing the 12 year old boys from your son's private boarding school attending medical appointments (with Matron) wearing a tweed suit, so it cuts both ways!

The red dungarees is Knighton House uniform (Dorset prep). Bryanston has no uniform and the girls can wear trousers (though not jeans).

God more typing errors meant to say one of the deciding factors was the uniform which for a school of this age and standing.

International schools and music schools have no uniform.

I'm lucky I have boys and as may who post on this section will know almost have a phobia of what to my mind is ridiculous uniform; boaters, tail coats, wing collars, things hanging out of your socks etc etc. We send DS2 to an independent boys boarding school and one of the deciding factors was the uniform is for a school of this age and standing relatively normal tweed jacket or blazer short/tie any sensible colour and dark trousers suits for best. It obviously wasn't my first reason for choosing the school but I couldn't/wouldn't have even considered or chosen a school where tails and boaters were compulsory (no names). This may sound ridiculous to many but I live in the 21st century and work in a profession where many wear uniform and over the last 30 years we have woken up and got rid of the starch/frills/hats etc realising that the things are completely impractical do nothing to for anyone and in fact in many instances were a positive barrier to effective and safe working practices. Its time schools did the same. Many parents love all these ridiculous uniforms partly I believe because they like the fact that it tells the world that they have the money to pay for independent ed. or that Freddie goes to a certain school.

I was only thinking yesterday afternoon as I walked around my local supermarket how smart a teenage girl looked in the upper half of her local state secondary school uniform, reasonably open necked blouse, short, fat tie (special 'girls tie'!) and smart blazer- and how her lower half destroyed 'the look'- skin tight black, drainpipe (and slightly shiny) trousers, bare feet/ballet pumps. No.

I almost chose this school for DS as, among a lot of other things, the uniform, worn properly, looks sharp, but in fact DS goes to a sweat'n'polo-shirt establishment, though, to be fair, they are strict about the uniform (which includes optional black trousers for the girls) and how it's worn. The supermarket girl would have been sent home form DS's school to change!

Doesn't Godolphin Prep in Salisbury require 12 year old girls to wear bright red over smocks, Polly-Anna stylee?!

St Pauls Girls in West London doesn't have uniform, and my eldest niece used to wear jeans and sweatshirt. I know what you mean about equality and trousers, but the simple truth is most parents at private schools want a uniform, and IME the more traditional the better....which means skirts for girls...and often hats too!

My old school (Alleyn's in London, I left in 2004) had trousers avaliable for the girls but I think I only ever saw one girl wearing them. The trousers were horrendous.

OP - I'm not sure private school would suit you as a parent. If you are irritated by the prospect of a skirts/dresses only uniform, then you may also be annoyed at other traditional aspects.

My son goes to a private school very traditional attitudes to lots of things and this year for the first time the girls are allowed to wear trousers, up to Easter I think.

But in fairness to boys, endlessly unfairly being slagged off, I don't think they spend an infinite amount of time looking up the girls' skirts, as you say in your op. Not clear what age your daughter is.

As exoticfruits says, uniform is very far down the list when choosing a school!
I utterly hate the uniform at my children's school, but it was the last consideration for us.

Red dungarees a one private school. And I know a few with no uniform.

St Pauls Girls School has no uniform either, and is consistently one of the highest-achieving in the country in terms of examination success.

At least with an independent school, you have more choice (nit just a preference system dressed up as choice) and so will no find you DC allocated to a school whose uniform you find unacceptable.

that is they are allowed to wear skirts with opaque tights OR they are allowed to wear trousers...skirts with trousers isn't an option...

At my dd's independent secondary girls school they are allowed to wear either skirts with opaque tights or trousers. My dd was adamant she would be too cold in a skirt before she went there (she was previously at a state primary where she always wore trousers and she always refused to wear skirts or dresses outside of school). However...in practice very few girls wear trousers (I've seen one, dd says there are a handful). They all wear skirts (usually rolled up as short as they can get away with). My dd has trousers she could wear to school as she has them as part of an out of school choir uniform. She has never once worn them to school. It wasn't that cold this winter, but she was quite warm enough with tights (except when the year 7s decided to take their shoes off to walk in the snow but that is another story!)

It's not just private schools which require girls to wear skirts and I'm really not sure it's worth you getting your knickers in a twist about- if you have an issue with the uniform how are you going to deal with the higher levels of discipline/ sanctions often found in the independent sector (and a massive selling point as far as I am concerned!!)

I think tights are just as warm as trousers - perhaps warmer, as their close fit makes them better at trapping a layer of air next to the skin. If they itch, you probably need to try a different brand. HTH.