Why is uniform for secondary school so formal and strict?

[Soubriquet]

I mean why do they HAVE to wear a blazer unless a teacher says it’s ok to take it off. Why do they HAVE to wear a tie when most primary schools don’t.

Why does it HAVE to be a particular brand, especially with the COL crisis that’s happening.

My dd is going into secondary school and she’s moving from a primary school who were fairly flexible for uniform to one who is strict. I mean one skirt is £20 on its own! Madness

People argue it’s to prepare for the working world, but even adults in the working world have more flexibility

Ours is England - but only one small level above this really. Tie and blazer compulsory - rest is black bottoms, white shirts from wherever you get 'em and don't take the piss with leggings or flares that have just escaped the 1970s... shoes - basically plain black, even if they're trainer style, and they ask you buy one piece of logoed PE stuff - so generally people buy the t-shirt (although it's decent enough quality so we bought the long sleeve top as well) and that any other black sportswear has logos smaller than a bank card.

Ours actually look smarter going IN to school (going out they all look dishevelled as the buildings are bloody hot) than the school nearby which has logoed everything they can get away with - so the kids hang onto the skirts forever and they become tiny on them, it's changed logos so many times that there's a multitude of inconsistent logoed uniform etc etc.

I will add that the school dog is often seen rocking a clip on school tie attached to her collar - so perhaps we've got high standards for pets or something?

School dog is also very fond of sitting on the reception desk for parents evenings as well - but she is a Very Good Girl.

I'm also in a very mixed suburban area in the USA and at our school they really don't, possibly because the kids dress like absolute slobs. I am fairly sure that some of them would turn up in their pyjamas if they could get away with it, especially as first bell rings at 7.40. I suppose some kids might care about clothes. But in schools that are competitive like that it's never just clothes. It's phones and cars and Taylor swift tickets. One acquaintance said in her old town it was ski holidays.

The fights around here tend to be about enforcing rules on tank tops and such, which I think they've now given up on too.

in DC proper the schools usually have uniforms. It's khakis and polo shirts for public schools, and it makes all the kids look like they're about to go to work at Target. It's practical enough I suppose but I'm sceptical about any discipline claims.

Bully's are going to bully be it over own clothes, school uniform, bags, shoes etc....... having a uniform does not stop bullying, anyone who thinks it does is very naive.

What are the positives of home clothes supposed to be, because that only gives more opportunities for bullying

Students can be comfortable, clothes can be more practical, parents only have to buy one lot of clothes instead of uniform and clothes for home (thus freeing up more money for the children on poverty), it's not another stick to beat students with by MATs there are numerous reasons why it would be easier for students, parents and actually school staff!

Bullying is sadly going to happen own clothes or uniform!

I have a teenager that goes to school right now though, so its not just my experience from 20 years ago, but my daughter's current experience right now.

Comfortable, saves money (they need home clothes anyway so they are still going to be bought, but now they don't have to buy uniform on top of that), far more practical for different weather conditions, can wear comfy trainers so much better for keeping active or winter boots in winter to keep feet nice and dry, teachers don't have to waste time policing what the students are wearing, and no one misses out on education because they've been sent home, or put in isolation for wearing the wrong clothes.

Labour are planning to limit the number of branded uniform items to three per school. Can't wait. Paying £20 for one pair of polyester trousers with a teeny tiny school logo that no one can see under the branded blazer is not ok.

Labour’s pledge to limit branded school uniform items ‘will cost parents more’ (yahoo.com)

Depends on the school. Ours is polo shirt, no tie.
Uniforms an easy one to create a culture of community and requirement to adhere to rules

DDs skirt wasn't even branded but was a compulsory item from the uniform shop. I could get one nearly the same but not identical half the price at M and S or next.
As it was she had few growth spurts and each set of skirts (I bought 2 at a time) lasted at least 2 years, so not bad value but a lot to pay out in one go.

DS has grown about 4 or 5" in a year, so if she had been similar they would have been expensive to replace. As it is boys can wear trousers from anywhere as long as they are the right colour (same school)

Love that this advert is on the thread for me multiple times. Thanks Tu, but my kids would be put in isolation if they turned up in your clothes and not the school branded ones that can only be bought from one shop (that the school must profit from for making them sole supplier)

@mathanxiety what you may say about kids not bullying based on clothes perhaps is the case, but my understanding of US school culture is that bullying and ‘othering’ based on cliques is such an ingrained part of school culture; which is not such the case in the UK. Surely clothing plays a huge part in what ‘clique’ a student is in, which in itself leads to the bullying culture.

I don’t have a particular issue with uniform but it should be comfy and available cheaply. So black/navy trousers or skirt and a t-shirt or sweater in whatever colour the school fancies. 14 year olds in ties and blazers is so pointless. They don’t look smart they look silly. It certainly isn’t “preparing them for the workplace” unless they’re planning to work at Butlins in the 1970s.

Shock horror that the schoolwear association doesnt want cheaper uniform! Fuck the parents, we want our suppliers to carry on charging hideous amounts to parents.

Yes! I mean the skirt and trousers are black, but they can’t be from a supermarket. You HAVE to get them from the uniform shop or you can end up in seclusion.

It’s not fair.

Cliques in American schools vary quite a lot. It's definitely not like in films.

as well, there's been a massive focus here on preventing and punishing bullying. My friends who grew up here say that things are very different now from when they were in school. Of course, some schools are worse than others but a lot depends on how the administration handles things.

And so the school gets more applications from MC parents who can afford the uniform.

I went to a girls' school in a northern town with a significant Muslim population.

Our school uniform included a knee length skirt. We didn't have any Muslim pupils.

No, it's really not like that.

There are certainly old tropes in movies (jocks, swots, etc, certainly provide a dramatic edge) but in real life, students get on with their lives in relative peace.

High schools in the US tend to be on the larger side in heavily populated areas (suburban and urban areas). The proliferation of clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities makes it easy to find a friend.

In addition, students shuffle through different class groups all day every day - they're not stuck with the same people in all their classes or at lunchtime. Students of different ages and years are frequently in class together. Students of different academic abilities and different aims from their high school education are on different tracks. Disruption is dealt with by deans and problems requiring sustained intervention are handled by social workers on staff. There is a great deal of monitoring of behaviour.

Many schools encourage or require public service as part of their graduation requirements, many have buddy systems, many have student led and teacher moderated peer mediation, and take the practice of community building very seriously, with a great many programs to choose from. Schools also develop their own.

The only local school with a reputation for bullying (and a few transfers into the public high school every year as a result) is a private all-girls high school with a strict uniform.

@sashh yes exactly 🙁

Like has been said, have uniform but it doesn't have to be so strict. Just set colours, not ridiculously expensive logo items.

We are lucky, rural Wales and our school's uniform policy is less strict. No blazers, only logo jumpers and PE tops are compulsory. Shirts, Trousers, Skirts etc are just asda george or matalan etc. Noone needs blazers, esp in Summer when it's far too warm.

Basing your understanding of a country's culture on John Hughes movies is a mistake.

Why would a child ‘struggle’ at wearing the same uniform as everyone else?

YANBU. There is no actual purpose to make young girls wear woolly tight a woolly skirt and jumper in 24 and not allow them to take it off as my DD’s secondary have done. That doesn’t teach them anything. My DD has told me that some teachers wouldn’t break to “no drinking water in class” rule today, she was so sweaty when she came home I was amazed she hadn’t passed out.