School skirts? Why is it such an issue?

What kind of rebellion is it to show your knickers to the world? This isn’t Tehran. It’s pathetic.

I know people roll out this reason, but I don’t think it’s true. Many schools in the world don’t have uniform, yet people manage to learn how to dress in a professional environment.

There are many things school doesn’t teach, but people still manage to learn

All school uniforms should be sportswear -tracksuit tops in school colours/logo and jogging bottoms. Same for boys and girls. No shirts, blazers, ties, skirts or trousers. Loose fitting, practical, not too short, too tight, too long. Available from any supermarket, so cheap. Branded and logo tracksuit top if school wants.

I went to Rainford High in the 90's (the school on the news.) I wore a short skirt because that was what everyone else was wearing and it was what teenagers do.
No one could care less. I managed to pass my GCSE's. No one complained about being distracted/ damaging reputation of the school etc.
I don't know why it's such a big issue now, surely the school has more important things to focus on!

One reason is because it equalis everyone and makes school about the learning and not which kids can afford the most expensive brands

School uniform is archaic.

The kids are anxious on non uniform days because they have a single day where they’re judged by their clothing. Funnily enough there’s no anxiety when they’re meeting friends/ going to clubs etc, they’re pretty much all in some type of trousers and hoodies etc!

I work at a school and the girls can wear trousers as long as they're not sprayed on. Most wear skirts and roll them up as far as possible. In theory, it shouldn't matter but I can genuinely see their pants when they sit down or pick up their bags/do drama. And in summer months, when they're sweaty and warm, their bare skin is on the seats/stools and, well, I'm not describing it in lurid detail, but nobody wants to sit in somebody else's sweat.

I think uniform does matter to a lot of our students. The anxiety on non uniform days is palpable and some of our students who struggle, find not fitting in unbearable.

To my knowledge, nobody has ever said anything about being responsible for boys' thoughts and behaviours but I do worry about how impractical and sometimes, risky their tiny rolled up skirts are. It's pretty risky in food tech and science for example.

They should be able to wear PJ’s like their mums do going down to the shops

Girls should be able to wear trousers.
The school has set standards of dress and trying to amend them is a gauntlet to the school. I guess ? Also, by making them mega short the girls know this is to try to make them look attractive. It is though very daft.
They might not be mature enough to fend off some off the unwanted interest it might bring despite how confident they may seem. And no, it shouldn't happen but sadly, it sometimes does.
So the school, whilst the girls are in their care want them to dress in a sensible way. And not attract unwanted interest.

My friend teaches in a non uniform school where the only rule is No bellies, bums or boobs showing. It works fine and they don't have the clothing issues that those with strict uniform policies have. Also, fwiw, I think that every school should allow girls to wear trousers. My dd only wears trousers as she hates the school skirt style they have to wear.

School uniform is made with one body shape in mind when teen girls vary wildly in shape due to everyone teaching puberty at different times. If school trousers were made flattering and took into account that girls come in a lot of different shapes and sizes then the number of trousers wearers would increase imo.

Dd wore a skirt because it wasn't possible to buy flattering trousers. You just can't buy age 11 waist with age 16 length where as an age 11 skirt is available and looks better because the waist fits. Schools often have a no skinny style trousers which is unfair on girls who develop hips earlier too.

Just let them wear jeans and hoodies .

I am fine with the idea of a uniform, but make it practical, and make it universal across schools ( at least in that authority) so kids can ‘hand me down’ , don’t need new stuff for moving schools etc.
Ditch Blazers, ties. Skirts/ trousers to personal preference. Easy wash etc. low cost. Our local state schools wear ‘uniform’ but it’s not smart ..

..except the named school suppliers sell skirts by length.

And the 1-2cm above the knee isn't substantiated by photographs online of school things, where the average length of a non school supplier style skirt appears to be at mid thigh on girls who certainly don't look to be nearly six foot tall, more like five two, so the actual school skirts would be below their knees.

I think it's really stupid. And don't get me started on ties. I mean, ties. Noone needs to wear a tie at 14.

I live near a sixth form college, no uniform. Quite a few crop tops, but no short skirts or shorts

@breeliant out of interest I just looked up the uniform for that school, they have 3 different uniform suppliers who sell similar but not identical pleated grey skirts, 1 supplier for £18, another for £6 and the last for £18. M&S do a longer length pleated skirt in the same style and shade of grey for £9.

So it isn't a case that they are restricted to 1 supplier, or 1 style there are options and they could find a skirt in the right waist size and length. For whatever reason the parents are not doing that.

Yeah I live in a European country where uniforms are not a thing. DS is in secondary school and I’ve never heard any mention of a dress code. The kids wear what they want to and I think almost everyone wears jeans of some description. Nobody seems to get worked up about skirt lengths.

Going against the grain here but rolled skirts look awful so maybe just have that as a rule, no rolled skirts in the uniform policy. Easy enough to check no need to be getting rulers out. Should definitely have a trouser option though.

@Fredoraly that's the irony. If there was no uniform 99% of the girls would be wearing leggings, jeans or trackies 🤣

I have no idea why we insist on school uniform. Kids should be able to wear what they want.

Unfortunately my oldest is a roller. It doesn't matter how much I go out of my way to find the longest possible skirt for her waist measurement and tell her it looks inappropriate short. She'll still adjust it to a wholly inappropriate level the minute she's out of sight.

The girls at the Merseyside school that was in the headlines for skirt measuring are not allowed to wear trousers. Also their policy says the skirt can't be above the knee which is a problem when:

1. Skirts are sold by waist measurement, not by length. More expensive brands have length options, but supermarket brands don't. So tall, skinny girls can sometimes struggle to get skirts which fit round the waist and also meet their school's length criteria.

1. Girls grow unpredictably. A skirt that is on the knee in September can easily be an inch above by Christmas. So there needs to be some flexibility in school enforcement of skirt length policies.

Yes, some girls also roll their skirts up, but that issue can be dealt with much more easily than the other two points.

If a female CEO turned up to a board meeting in a micro mini and blouse buttons undone most people would think that it is pretty odd. It’s her choice, but still if she was considering doing that, most people would advise against it. Kids, girls, don’t understand what other people think. It’s our job to tell them how not to make a fool of themselves. Sometimes, you need to make rules and enforce them went they won’t be told. I think this is one of those cases.