If you are not British how do you feel about school uniforms?

[katepilar]

It should really be titled if you grew up in a culture with no school uniforms how do you feel about them? Do you like your children having to wear them?
I just dont know, its a very strange concept for me and as I grow older I have to choose clothes carefully to feel comfortable in them. I cant imagine anyone telling me what clothes to wear on so many levels ie skirt/trousers/dress, materials, different shapes etc. Even more concerned about shoes (my English charges long time ago had to choose from about three particular shoe and were told when to wear socks and when to wear tights and I was shocked).

I just remembered all this thinking about Ukrainian children in the UK that will have to buy a uniform to go to school which seem so unreasonable in the circumstances.

German here. I hate. school uniforms as I find they don't take the "all are equal" out, it's just moved to phones, trainers, bags and whatever else they can compare brands over.

They are expensive for the quality, girls who have to wear ties often look awful if they have larger busts and don't take different shapes into account.

DD goes to a secondary school where one set costs me £250. I. can buy a lot of non-uniform clothing for this. PE costs me £120. All has to have a logo and can only. be bought at two stores.

I just don't see how uniform is helping to learn. I. managed A-Level with Bs and have a great working life, similar to DH who hasn't worn a tie unless he goes to a wedding or funeral.

I'm American but grew up in private (Catholic) schools so I'm quite used to uniforms. That being said, I think British school uniform standards are crazy strict by comparison. We had uniform clothes like skirts and p.e. clothes, but a lot of the extras like shoes, hairstyles, etc, weren't so strictly enforced. We wore whatever shoes were comfortable, as long as they were sensible (mostly Keds type trainers in the early 90's) I roll my eyes at the expectation of small children being forced into blazers and ties and the like at such a young age. There seems like there should be bigger concerns than policing these things.

And I'm not buying the argument that they prepare children for the "world of work"----not many industries require a full dress suit anymore.

I’m British but I do like having a uniform. I also think it’s good for things like kids dressed head to toe in designer clothes and another kid in primark being bullied for not having expensive brands

I'm in Scotland and there are "uniforms" for schools and kids are encouraged to wear them, but it can't be enforced so we have pupils coming to school in almost anything they like.

I find it really odd to read of children being sent home for having the wrong shoes or haircut etc. They'd have a field day up here - there would be no pupils left in school

I’m English & I hate school uniform. My DC go to uniform schools but my friends children go to non uniform primary & secondary just out of my catchment. She spends so much less on clothes & shoes than I do, her DC have no worries about what to wear & don’t care about what anybody else wears, there’s hardly a designer label to be seen at either school. At my DC’s schools a non uniform day is a nightmare, every one stressing out about what to wear etc, at the secondary everyone wants a designer bag (the only thing not restricted by uniform) they’re forever being sent to detention for uniform infractions & spend a lot of time trying to get round the rules. I love seeing the children going to school in comfortable clothing & shoes. When I worked in a non uniform school no one cared what their mates wore. It was jeans, leggings, hoodies & Primark knock off converse. I live & work in a part of London where the divide between rich & not rich is quite huge.

@Inmyownlittlecorner

I’m English & I hate school uniform. My DC go to uniform schools but my friends children go to non uniform primary & secondary just out of my catchment. She spends so much less on clothes & shoes than I do, her DC have no worries about what to wear & don’t care about what anybody else wears, there’s hardly a designer label to be seen at either school. At my DC’s schools a non uniform day is a nightmare, every one stressing out about what to wear etc, at the secondary everyone wants a designer bag (the only thing not restricted by uniform) they’re forever being sent to detention for uniform infractions & spend a lot of time trying to get round the rules. I love seeing the children going to school in comfortable clothing & shoes. When I worked in a non uniform school no one cared what their mates wore. It was jeans, leggings, hoodies & Primark knock off converse. I live & work in a part of London where the divide between rich & not rich is quite huge.

Really that’s interesting I live in London too and my son was laughed at for not having Nike shoes, so I dread to think how much worse it would be if he was wearing all his own clothes

TBH bullying someone for their clothing choices really wasn’t a thing at the non uniform school I worked at or at my friends DC school. There were children who came dressed as if they were going to an animè convention & no one batted an eye. Being able to have autonomy over how you dress is, IMO, very important. The only rule was no straps no gaps.

@AHungryCaterpillar My experiences are at non uniform girl’s schools so maybe different for boys. Although at my DDs uniform girls school she was made fun of on non uniform day for not having real converse & people have laughed at her bag. Never happened to my friends DD at her non uniform school though. As DD is autistic & I’m in the process of transferring her there because she works so much better when she isn’t stressing about uniform & feels comfortable in her clothes.
At the (very strict) uniform school I worked at, I was always having to speak to pupils about incorrect footwear & accessories, huge Michael Kors earrings, Nike air max trainers etc.

I'm British and not really a fan. I think the rules on uniforms have generally got stricter since I was a child- there was no uniform in my primary school which I think was the norm (can't think of any primary schools in my town which had uniform at the time). Secondary had uniform but it was fairly relaxed - shirt and trousers/ skirt in set colours but no blazers/ jumpers with logos etc.

DD goes to a non uniform primary and I'm dreading her getting to secondary age and having to buy a uniform as well as all her other clothes. She's not looking forward to having to wear shoes rather than trainers or sandals either

British here. I don't mind the idea of uniforms as a leveller but wish it could be cheaper and more comfy and practical rather than blazers, shirts and ties. Why do children need to dress like a businessman going for a meeting with the bank manager? I would prefer joggers, polo shirts and sweatshirts/hoodies in school colours.

Grew up in Scotland, none of the local schools had uniform so I have never worn one. My DC have to wear uniform (we live in England) and I hate how much money it costs (we can afford it but I still resent buying clothes I don't need to) and how wasteful it is because their casual clothes hardly get worn and how many shoes they need and how it's all so plastic (secondary uniform all polyester). Thankfully we don't have a school with a strict uniform policy but that is just luck. There is no choice in the matter which really annoys me. Roll on the DC going to 6th form.

@Inmyownlittlecorner

TBH bullying someone for their clothing choices really wasn’t a thing at the non uniform school I worked at or at my friends DC school. There were children who came dressed as if they were going to an animè convention & no one batted an eye. Being able to have autonomy over how you dress is, IMO, very important. The only rule was no straps no gaps.

At DT’s non uniform school, the standard dress was jeans, T-shirt and hoodie or shorts when it was worn. The majority was non branded and no one cared what anyone was wearing. Regular tracksuit for sports. Saved a fortune compared with a school uniform as they just wore the same clothes all the time

I'm not British btw... per your thread title

[quote Inmyownlittlecorner]@AHungryCaterpillar My experiences are at non uniform girl’s schools so maybe different for boys. Although at my DDs uniform girls school she was made fun of on non uniform day for not having real converse & people have laughed at her bag. Never happened to my friends DD at her non uniform school though. As DD is autistic & I’m in the process of transferring her there because she works so much better when she isn’t stressing about uniform & feels comfortable in her clothes.
At the (very strict) uniform school I worked at, I was always having to speak to pupils about incorrect footwear & accessories, huge Michael Kors earrings, Nike air max trainers etc.[/quote]
Yeah that could be it, he was wearing some black trainers from primark and said a boy said to him “what are those?!” “My shoes are nike” he asked me not to put him in them again so had to go out and buy more shoes, he is in adult sizes now at 9 so Nike shoes are about £100 I pointed out the boy was probably still in junior sizes!

I also think it’s good for things like kids dressed head to toe in designer clothes and another kid in primark being bullied for not having expensive brands

People who have no experience of no uniform always say this but it's not actually what happens. Kids who always wear their own clothes care less about expensive labels.

@JaninaDuszejko

I also think it’s good for things like kids dressed head to toe in designer clothes and another kid in primark being bullied for not having expensive brands

People who have no experience of no uniform always say this but it's not actually what happens. Kids who always wear their own clothes care less about expensive labels.

As I already said my son was teased For not having Nike shoes.

I’m British and have always accepted uniform unquestioningly. How we we recently sent DS (13) to a school without uniform (they also use teacher’s first names) and I think it’s great! DS is comfortable, the kids rock all sorts of individual looks and I can imagine it’s a great relief for the staff to not have to spend hours policing uniform rules.

I hate how the two secondaries I went to seem to have regressed and become stricter with uniform.

When I went the uniform was polo shirt, sweatshirt with school logo and black trousers and black shoes. Girls could wear skirts but no one really did. Trouser rules weren't particularly strict, I had pairs that were stretchy and basically smart jogging bottoms. Shoe rules were no high heels, but you could get away with black trainers. It was practical, easy to wash and no ironing for my mum! It was the 90s, so it was the fashion to get a sweatshirt off an older sibling so it was faded and oversized. I got my brothers and it was like a dress on me! There were no wierd rules about having to have your sweatshirt on or off or tucked in etc.

Both schools have now adopted absurd uniforms with blazers and jumpers and proper shirts and ties in house colours. The kids look as if they're off to bloody hogwarts, and the girls all seem to be in skirts now. My brother has twins, and told me it cost £500 to kit the both of them out when they started.

As someone who grew up with not much money and very few out of school clothes, I was so relieved we had a uniform. Otherwise the other kids would have known we were poor as I would have had the same outfit on every day!

It's partly a social status signifier now I think - by which I mean that up to the 80s / perhaps to the 90s in Scotland at least, state senior schools and the majority of primary school pupils wore smart blazer, tie, skirt or trousers combo with school shield on tie or blazer pocket. Now it seems to be independent schools and largely ( but not exclusively) high performing state schools in 'good areas' which adhere to the old traditional uniform. It may reflect parental demand or the hope that professional dress code leads to professional, rather than manual jobs, bizarre though that may seem! I suppose you could argue that it's a discipline that goes along with high standards and may engender pride in being part of a school community and being identified as such. I was interested to hear that a school with children suffering from high levels of deprivation in my town not only rejected suggestions to abandon uniform but sought donations to maintain a borrowing wardrobe so that all pupils could always access the correct clean uniform. They thought it important that these kids were able to feel and look the same as the others and 'belong' to something.

i'm in Scotland so while there is a school uniform it is not legal to send kids home or be given detention or deprived of any opportunity at school for not wearing it, the only thing legally banned is sectarian clothing
I think the simple uniform at DD's school of black trousers or skirt white shirt school tie and black jumper with black flat shoes or trainers without logos is adequate and smart enough; some wear black jeans or leggings but most don't, you get some black or grey hoodies but actually most wear the shirt and tie, PE kit is black leggings or shorts or joggers white or black t shirt and trainers
overall i would say 98% wear some semblance of uniform and 85-90% pretty much wear exact uniform
There is no real need for any state school to have a more complicated uniform than this, all PE uniforms should be black bottoms with a t shirt( school colour or house colour as a round neck t shirt in any colour can be got online for about £3) and trainers and a hoodie for the cold no specialist sports shoes or kit should be required, tabards or armbands are enough to distinguish teams in team sports
everything except school tie should be available at any supermarket

My school didn’t have a uniform.

In my experience, it just gave kids something else to pick on others for. There were children whose families could not afford the “right” clothes, or children who only had one outfit that fitted in with their peers, so they just used to wear that every single day. It was miserable

I'm British but never had a uniform. Lots of us wanted one as the other two secondary schools had one. Didn't have one at primary either.
I'm now in Italy where primary kids have a sort of smock coverall thing.
They always presume every single school in the UK has uniforms and are disappointed when I tell them they don't.

@ToastBusters

My school didn’t have a uniform.

In my experience, it just gave kids something else to pick on others for. There were children whose families could not afford the “right” clothes, or children who only had one outfit that fitted in with their peers, so they just used to wear that every single day. It was miserable

Yet there are people on this thread that don’t believe kids get teased for their clothes just because it hasn’t happened to their child.