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.

I'm not British but school uniforms are normal here. It didn't bother me then, and now that I am of working age I prefer to have a work uniform. That way I don't have to think about what I am going to wear to work, and don't get sick of my other clothes as I'm not wearing them all the time. I felt the same way when I was at school, and also I was rather proud of our uniform. Uniforms here, for primary age children anyway, in many cases are practical.

I wish there was a school uniform for adults. I can't be arsed to choose what to wear and would be quite happy with a state issued polo shirt and grey skirt every day.

I agree @garlictwist. We had a month of wear what you like Fridays at my last job (which had a uniform) and by the end of the month I was desperate for it to end, it was such a pain trying to think of what to wear.

You previously said: 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 -implying that he goes to a school that has a uniform, so by arguing with @JaninaDuszejko* you actually reinforce her point.

As a parent of children who went to a non-uniform secondary I totally agree with her.*

Yes my son school has uniform but that doesn’t mean if they didn’t he wouldn’t be teased if all the boys are wearing Nike tracksuits and he is in primark, Just because a couple of posters haven’t experienced it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, other posters have said on here that they grew up poor and didn’t like not having a school uniform as it was more obvious which kids are from poorer backgrounds, just because it doesn’t happen in one school doesn’t mean it won’t happen in another. I’m glad are school has uniform so there is no pressure to keep up with the latest clothes and everyone dresses the same. Yes he was teased for his shoes but easier to buy shoes that get worn every day than several brand new outfit plus shoes

Went to a school in UK that had no uniform but my kids now go to a school with a uniform, albeit very relaxed and my son wears a mix of joggers, polo shirts, jumpers etc in school colours. To be honest he's proud to wear it and it saves me from choosing his clothes every day.

@katepilar

We have 10 Ukrainian families en route to my town, uniforms, school bags, pe kit etc have all been sourced for them along with mobile phones for those 11+ it's actually easier in these circumstances than hand me down clothes, no one can tell you don't have many sets plus by March many uniforms are looking worn.

Uniforms are easier if you are low income as long as they are mostly generic, my girls have been to schools with and without, the one without had lots of low level bullying over brands eg my dd was laughed at for wearing asda clothes whereas her sister before her wore asda school uniform without incident at her rougher school

I think they make life way easier. Love them.

I’m British and I loathe school uniform.

All of the arguments in favour of it - making people equal, undermining cliques etc - fail to explain why it has to be so old-fashioned and uncomfortable (and overpriced). Why can’t they wear jogging bottoms and hoodies? Why do they get detention for taking a blazer off on a hot day? Why ties?! Why must everyone have identical coats and rucksacks, with all the confusion and lost property that involves?

The truth is, it’s all about class prejudice, and the headteacher’s desire to look like they run a posh school with posh kids. They want everyone to look like little Victorians because that fits their concept of posh. Bankers wear blazers, not hoodies, therefore little kids must do the same. “How you look matters more than how you feel” we teach them over and over again.

My teacher frind is insistant that this isn’t the case. “Uniform prevents bullying” she says firmly. But she’s never been to a school wtih no uniform (I have) and she can’t answer th question of how so many non-uniform schools manage quite well.

My daughter was told she is stupid for not having the newest smartphone, that was Y6.
In Y4 girls were ridiculed for having sparkly bags instead of totes worn by adult women.
They will find something to make fun off, all the equality talk is rubbish.

Nowadays most girls but at Primark anyway, regardless how much money the parents have.

I don’t wear a polyester blouse with a poly cotton jumper or a polyester blazer in a building with no air conditioning in Summer, why do teens have to do it.

@Pinkbonbon

They were introduced in my final year year highschool. Just another step on the indoctrination ladder as far as I'm concerned.

But I'm pretty much against all formal systems of schooling. After the age where they've learned to read, write and do basic math anyway. It's just so wrong to force people to be somewhere they don't want to be. Its something we do to criminals because depriving of their rights to freedom is a punishment. So why do we do it to kids?

Funnily enough, they make criminals wear uniforms too.

That's a very interesting idea. Where would the DC be if not in school while their parents are at work?

I don't have a problem with uniform as such - probably just because I'm so used to it, but would like to see it abolished in high school as DC should be able to express themselves. And it would get rid of all the time spent on nit picking. In Primary uniform should only be allowed to have a colour that can be bought from a supermarket so a coloured polo/jumper and then DC wear it with jeans or joggers.

I'm British and my junior school all those years ago had no school uniform. It was great. I do not understand this countries fascination with school children. It does not "level the playing field" everyone still knows who the poorer children are, but it does make some schools weed out poorer children by stealth as they won't be able to afford the extortionate uniform that they insist on.

If schools want a uniform it should be black tracksuit bottoms and zip up hoodie and a polo shirt of t shirt. That's it. Something comfortable, easy to wash and wear and let them get on with learning.

I live in England but grew up in a different country where there were no uniforms. (Although we had uniforms for a year until all parents complained)

I loved being able to wear my own clothes however it was always obvious who the "rich kids" were as they would always show off on branded/ designer clothes making the rest of us feel and look like shit 😂

@Sahgah

I find uniforms here stuffy and old fashioned. Why make primary or even high schoool aged kids wear ties! Why boring old grey or black for primary. Why not have a uniform for primary that is just like pe so they can run/play freely at break and don’t have to waste time for them to change in/out of pe. It really baffles me. Why can’t kids just wear trainers as well? The schools are unbelievable insisting the kids have trainers at school for pe. I now have to buy 2 pairs and they grow out of them so quickly I resent having to buy a pair they wear for 2 hours max a week during pe at school and then grow out of them 6 mo the later. My kids have yet to reach secondary but those blazers look ridiculous on most kids. I would have hated having to wear one.

Lots of schools have the DC wear their PE kit for the whole day on PE days since Covid. If they're already wearing in 2/5 days then why not the whole time. I agree much more practical. Luckily at my DD's primary they can wear trainers all the time.

Uniforms are important for equality and behaviour.

Not everybody likes them, and in since cases the majority don't like them. But that doesn't mean they're not beneficial. People don't always know what's best for them.

I grew up elsewhere but I can’t recall a school that didn’t use a uniform.

So even more likely than here, as my youngest dc attends a school without one atm

I really like her school and the policy, but also appreciate Ds’ opposite approach. I’m used to really strict from childhood - must wear navy ribbons etc to that detail

@oldwhyno

Uniforms are important for equality and behaviour.

Not everybody likes them, and in since cases the majority don't like them. But that doesn't mean they're not beneficial. People don't always know what's best for them.

But you know what's best for them?

In my experience, having uniforms in no way disguises inequality, and it certainly doesn't in any way rectify it, and wastes school staff time in policing arbitrary uniform rules, and not having uniform has no measurable impact on behaviour. Unless what you're peddling is the importance of conformity.

Personally I loved having a uniform. I would say that the trend for shirt/tie/blazer is silly though, especially in primary school. Polo shirt and sweatshirt served the 'general uniform benefits' job but was much more comfy and practical.

As a teacher, I dislike uniform and having to enforce it. I wish my students and their parents would realise that its not my personal choice to discipline the child because their shoes are not regulation......its my job and I am contractually obliged to do so (and do get pulled up on it myself if I don't reprimand the student!). I totally agree it wastes time and causes unnecessary angst.

I'm Swedish and definitely find strict uniform policies bizarre for sure. Implemented a bit loosely I wouldn't care, I mean, it's useful to spot what school the hellions shoplifting in Tesco are from as they're running away, but other than that ... the arguments given often have a goal in mind (say, equality between everyone, preventing youngsters from caring overmuch about their appearance, cost-effective) but I don't think the means used to acheive this goal seem appropriate or indeed successful. It's as if you wanted to prevent people from going to the ER when they aren't in a medical emergency by hiding the entrance.

The argument "we want to see at a glance which kids belong to which school" is good enough for me, but you don't need super strict policies for that which points to the strictness being fundamentally about something else - control and so on.

While my biggest worry about what my children wear in the morning has usually centred around "is it weather appropriate" I do appreciate that it might've removed a little bit of mental load had it been the same every day, but the stricter this is the more mental load is going right back on. And only women seem to be stuck worrying endlessly about it.

I get on the bus right outside a school, and see the armies of teenagers arriving each morning. They manage their own uniform just fine - EVERYONE is in wide jeans, a sweatshirt and white sneakers, it's so funny.

@ExcuseeeeMe

If you are at a scottish state school it is not legal to insist on uniform no aspect of education can be denied for not wearing uniform apart from the obvious of all lessons and access to sports and the canteen it would alos include being on school teams extra curricular actvities participating in events school trips having photos taken etc
if someone has been sent home for having a white stripe on their shoes the school needs to be reminded that it is acting illegally
the only thing that is banned is sectarian clothing so you could be sent home for having a celtic or rangers football scarf top bag etc even on non uniform days it is made clear that football stripes are not allowed

Not British but brought up with uniforms. I am pro uniform in theory but anti how they are implemented in most cases. I like the idea of consistency and a way to level the playing field but find schools with ridiculously strict rules extremely annoying. Ties for 5 year olds? It's practically why I would never send DS to a private primary school - insistence on shorts all year round is, in my opinion, ridiculous and cruel. Skirt lengths being policed to ridiculous levels infuriates me.

Our primary school is pretty flexible which I like. DS' new high school is not flexible at all but on plus side, does not have a lot of restrictions in that the uniform is pretty basic - the kids do have to wear ties which I think is unnecessary, but there doesn't seem to be a strict blazer requirement, skirts don't have to be insanely long, girls or boys can wear trousers, hair has to be tied back and without "extreme" cuts but it's none of the ridiculous list of rules we had around length of everything, types of hair styles (separated by gender) and so on. .

as someone pointed out earlier Swedish French and German children manage to learn quite adequately without uniforms

in fact Finnish schools have some of the best results in Europe with no uniforms and no homework

I think I prefer clarity - so strict (eg as a private school would) or none (as our state primary does) or just easy (as another state primary did)

But to my o/s eyes it’s the mixing it up I find most strange.

I always feel like life has been unfair to me in regards to uniform I went to school in the UK and wore a uniform from 4 to 16 (blazer, tie, horrible pleated skirt and all). It was supposedly better because it was less expensive than normal clothes, easier for the parents, etc. Then moved abroad where there are no uniforms and now have DC constantly asking to buy expensive branded gear for school Although DD1 now has a Shein habit which I'm not happy about either!

I went to school in the UK and wore a uniform from 4 to 16 (blazer, tie, horrible pleated skirt and all).
I loved all those bits of the uniform. At my school when I started blazers were compulsory for boys Yrs 7-11 but for girls only Yrs 7-9. There was a vote open to all girls in the school and we overwhelmingly chose to make the blazer required for everyone all the way through. So many useful pockets.

I really wished the 6th form had kept full uniform too. Would have been so much easier.