Ridiculous uniform policy for secondary

Oh god. This would have been a nightmare fir me. As a girl who's always had thick thighs and alot of junk in thr trunk I'd have never gotten in a pair of slim fit trousers. What do they expect girls to do? Slice off their arse so the skirts arent too short? Take a chainsaw to the thighs?

The cost of this is criminal. Needs a complete parent protest in the hope they see sense.

You can't see the issue with uniform costing £350? Are you a millionaire?

It was, she was so intelligent, so curious about the world, as children we had sets of encyclopedias and regular trips to the library to answer our questions.( long before computers and Google!) She left school at 14 but her written/ reading ability/ maths was far better than many of her contemporaries.
When I read threads like these, it doesn't feel like we as a society have learnt anything.

DD had to have a specific skirt from a specific shop. She has a size 4 waist and a size 6/8 bum. The skirts cost around £25 each and I had to pay £20 per skirt to have a tailor remake them to fit her. She then got in trouble for them being too short (I didn't get them taken up)
The trousers were worse.
After many many complaints the skirts were changed to pleated ones which had adjustable waists but only after she left

@wastingtimeonhere that's sad for your Granny 🙁

No, it's 2024 and they're a godsend. They reduce clinginess and static, stop clothes being see through and make uncomfortable fabrics so much better! Cool tech from Marks. Brilliant.

That's in breach of the uniform law that was brought in fairly recently. Schools are not permitted to insist on things being branded unnecessarily, especially items that would require purchasing frequently. Eg it's ok for a blazer because you'd buy a massive one at year 7 and pretty much hope it fits the whole 5 years. But you can't do that for shirts, trousers, skirts.

I did complain about our schools uniform policy when they insisted on a specific skirt that could only be purchased from school suppliers. They denied it was branded, despite me including the specific legislation wording, so I sent a picture of a similar skirt from Asda and got it in writing from them that it would be acceptable. They didn't update their uniform policy though and I ran out of steam to fight further. Should have gone to the governors in hindsight.

My grandmother won a scholarship in the 1920s and her parents turned it down as they couldn't afford uniform or the fares to get to school, she had to leave and get a job in the factory in the village. She hated uniform with a vengeance. I went to school in the 70s, our uniform was more lax...she knitted our jumpers.

@CraftyNavySeal the problem with this is for the incoming Year 7s they wouldn't be replacing old uniform - they've got to buy the new one 🙁

I could be talking out my arse but I don’t think schools can force you to buy a new uniform, you can still wear the old one.

When I was in school 15 years ago there were still year 11s wearing bits and pieces of the old uniform.

It's against current government guidence on uniform and a blatent attempt to price out the poorest families. We have a local secondary that has decided all parents need to purchase a tablet for their child, same thing, poorest parents can't and so will end up elsewhere. Should not be allowed.

I worked on a year long comparison study where we had to source uniforms for every primary and secondary school in the UK from both the official supplier and then generic suppliers, and supermarkets. Outcome was the whole thing is a massive rip off. One blue top with yellow stripe is the same as another? One black skirt is the same as another if similar style. They should just let you stick on the uniform badge to generic blazer and then all generic uniform.
I wouldn't send my kids to a uniform school. In my area there are plenty of good schools without.

As an american transplant I will never understand the UK's obsession with impractical, expensive school uniforms... they're just costumes, honestly. They achieve nothing that a reasonable gender-neutral dress code wouldn't, and dressing appropriately for the occasion/environment without a uniform is a better life skill anyways.

I would absolutely complain and work with other parents to express dissatisfaction as a group. Provide examples of schools with affordable, accessible uniforms. Don't let it drop.

In the meantime... slips under uniform skirts should be more common.They shouldn't be hot if they're the right fabric and they can easily be sewn in so it's not an extra piece to keep track of. I'm in my early 30s and I still do this with most of my business skirts and dresses because I'm prone to getting itchy/irritated from certain fabrics.

You can’t see the issue with forcing poor and working class people to spend £350 on branded clothing for the privilege of going to school?

This is ridiculous. When I was at secondary my school let you have any white shirt/polo and black jumper with an iron-on logo which cost a few quid from the school shop, then any black trousers or skirt (so long as not too short!). I thought that was standard now?

My school had a similar uniform policy to this. I had to wear unflattering, uncomortable trousers for 5 years. Not sure what you can do though really.

@Fannyfiggs sensible choice 😂

Absolutely ridiculous, and what possible justification can they have for allowing two fit options for boys trousers but only one option for girls? That's sex discrimination.

That's very true.

Due to your feedback, I have changed my uniform policy for FannyFiggs High to navy t-shirts 😆

Yes it’s ridiculous. I’m fortunate my secondary is sensible on uniform. Jumper, tie and PE top have to be branded but trousers, skirts etc can be from anywhere. There are neighbouring schools that require every item branded plus different PE kit for rugby, football and athletics,

@Fannyfiggs I agree except for white t-shirts.
White is a very impractical colour 😂

Wouldn't it be great for the school uniform to be a neutral coloured tracksuit, white t-shirt and trainers.

How comfortable for the kids and easy for the parents.

This country needs to be dragged out of the dark ages sometimes.

Ridiculous! I have secondary aged DD and would actually consider moving schools over this.
When i was in school we had to wear a colour of skirt that you could only get from a school uniform supplier really especially in the 90s before online shopping, it was a nightmare because I went through puberty early and always been pear shaped so all the skirts that fit my hips gaped at the waist! My mum was so happy when they started allowing trousers for girls

Rubbish, you can have a 'skirt to be no more than 2 inches above knee' rule without making people pay £35 per skirt, in fact by making only one skirt available its harder for the very tall or short to get the right fit.