to be proud of working at one of the few schools

[Toastiewoastie]

that doesn't have a uniform;

here

I always hated school uniform and nothing has changed my opinion.

Uniform is optional at DD's school. Guess what? All the kids wear it.

DD hates the polo shirts because they make her itchy (she has eczema) so she wears white cotton knit blouses from Tesco instead, but still wears the navy blue cardigan and trousers.

It suits me that she wears uniform because what to wear has already been decided. It also makes non uniform days feel special. Also, I can tell on non uniform days which kids like to look "cool" and which ones either can't afford it or aren't interested. Unfortunately the "cool" ones are the class bullies, so I am glad everyone wears uniform.

I think they might know who wears the wrong label out of school though .They don't just see each other at school

Lucky if you can afford to kit them out with a uniform and ordinary clothes I had to choose

The stupid petty rules about the wrong coloured shoes etc drove me mad

I went to a hippy school and we didn't wear uniform & called our teachers by their first name, it was fantastic, loved it

DD goes to our local school, it's an amazing school but has a uniform, it bothered me a first but now I quite like the idea

I went to a non-uniform secondry and it was hell from the moment I started to the day I left.If you didn't wear the 'right' clothes which I didn't as mum couldn't afford it it was a living hell.

usualsuspect
I just buy DD's uniform from Asda, BHS, Tesco etc. I don't have to go to an expensive school outfitter. Any navy trousers or cardigan will do and it isn't any more expensive than non uniform clothes.

My ds had to wear logo polo shirts at £8 a go and £15 for a sweatshirt ... not exactly cheap

I like a uniform. The DC's go to a school with a very strict uniform and their school is right next door to a school with no uniform. They look such scruff pots arriving in the mornings. The kids from the DC's school look so smart (and cute). It prob doesn't have any effect on the actual quality of education, but it makes me happy in the morning!

at my high school ( and this was still going on a year ago when my sister was there) you had to have logoed EVERYTHING. It could be bought from the school and a skirt was £28, jumper £35, tie £8, even the socks were £3 a pair, school tracksuit £30-odd, summer pe kit about the same, etc. State school in suburban area.

That's ridiculous ButterPiefy. Didn't anyone speak to the Governers about that.

I have no idea. I remember there being a fight when they brought in trousers for girls and it became apparent that they would be school ones, but then the other girls took advantage of the concession and wore tight hipster trousers, so we ended up back with official school ones.

They said it was ok because anyone on certain benefits got one set for free

Good schools don't need a uniform IMO.
DS will (hopefully) go to a great secondary with no uniform next year, and he can't wait. When we went to see the school, the kids all looked very colourful and comfortable. No one was particularly designer-y and I doubt there's much bullying about not wearing the 'right' clothes. I think this argument is slightly overused tbh.

DS doesn't mind wearing uniform actually, but prefers wearing other clothes - altogether not that bothered about clothes at all.

DD1, on the other hand, is ideologically opposed to uniform from the moment she started school. Luckily her current school is fairly flexible.

This is interesting. My 11yr old is a member of the school debate club and they debated this last week.

The kids (aged 11-18) nearly all concluded that putting their school uniforms on in the mornings, altered their frame of mind...in other words they subconsciously thought 'Ok, uniform on...time to learn.' Then when they got home and changed out of them...it was a case of 'Ok, home now...leisure time.'

Mind you, they could have been comparing their attitudes with non uniform days which are usually 'fun days' I suppose.

When my eldest daughter's school have a non uniform the children seem to just swap an official uniform for a non official uniform. Even in their own clothes they all seem to dress the same.
Her school has a very strict uniform involving a blazer, tie and jumper.
The deputy head goes round measuring skirts at breaktime and lunchtime with a ruler and hands out lunchtime detentions for uniform infringements.
My daughter got one for her skirt being too short as she had rolled it up. She came home complaining about the deputy head only to be told that the deputy head was right to give her the detention.
Certain styles of shirts, skirts and trousers are not allowed as well and the socks have to be black!

A school uniform saved me in secondary school.

It was bad enough having a crappy coat and shoes etc and having to wear ugly, very untrendy clothes out of school. Public humiliation on a daily basis would have been the end of me.

Seriously, not fitting in at that age was so miserable. I would have probably just stopped going to school.

They measure ties in my son's school cos the 'fashion' is to wear them ridiculously short lol.

My life would have been an utter misery without uniform. They all end up in a type of uniform(you only have to see them on non uniform days) and my mother wouldn't have had me follow the trend, I was very thankful that it was just easy to have to wear the same. I agree with Rosebud-utter daily embarrassment. (Also dreadful for those without much money.)

I like school uniforms and when we went to see my youngest secondary school the head explained the strict uniform policy even down to the number of strips that should be showing on the tie and blazer on at all times rules. At the end of the speach he stated if you have a problem with their policy dont bother sending back the application form.

I like my sons headmaster.

YANBU but I'm a bit agnostic about it. I went to a non-uniform secondary and was very pleased to. Didn't have any of the problems that posters mention and didn't have to put up with arbitrary rules that have no relevance to learning.

I don't think there was any great bonus in terms of self-expression though, and I see the dislike I had for uniform at that age as quite childish. But as I've got older I find I am more concerned by the idea that we should be teaching all kids to conform to appearance standards as a matter of course. I really don't think that is of benefit to our society at large. I also think school uniforms mean schools loose opportunities to encourage tolerance and respect for diversity and individual liberty.

I do see how a uniform could be a useful tool in turning a school around, or overcoming a particular issue at a particular time. But I also think it's a pretty lousy one to rely on for community cohesion in a school that's stable.

Given that education is compulsory and many parents don't have a great deal of choice over the schools that their children go to I tend to think having uniforms as the default in State schools is inappropriate. But I doubt I will take it into consideration when choosing a school for my DCs.

25 years ago (eek) I went to a school which had a uniform, but very laxly enforced (white shirt/blouse & navy skirt/trousers, tie for boys & optional for girls - but stylewise pretty much anything was acceptable if it was decent).

In theory, this should have failed on both the uniform and non-uniform fronts, but it was a very good school. It was a rural comprehensive though, not a socially divided inner city school.

Girls, especially did get very creative with the uniform - perhaps there was just enough restriction to inspire us ;).

Another one here who was never in the cool crowd and would have hated being judged for my clothes on a daily basis. I did like not wearing uniform in sixth form though - made us feel more grown up and studenty.

I like school uniform as said before it's easier to get dressed in the morning. My son [9] has never mentioned that he likes it or he don't. Although non uniform days are exciting he just puts on what he had on the night before no hassle.

To be proud because your school does it I find shallow I would rather be proud of good teachers or the ofstead report or something more important than ''fashion''.

I would have had no problem without uniform in the 6th form because by then I had a Saturday and babysitting jobs and so could buy my own clothes. It is before then that it would have been daily humiliation because my mother bought the clothes that she thought suitable.
We have a school near us without uniform, I have seen the website and in theory it should work well because their are rules about 'no logos' etc but they don't enforce it and this means that it is easy for the 'cool kids' to emerge as leaders. I dare say they would emerge anyway but I don't think they need to be handed it on a plate!
As regards OP, it seems a bit weird, as an adult in the school, why would it matter?

I have just looked at the opening link and they have made their own uniform! I bet the DCs who come off best are the ones with the most expensive clothes and at 11yrs my DC could accurately price tops. I don't know where it would leave someone like me whose mother thought a tartan skirt, handknitted jumper and socks would be suitable-well I do know -probably wanting to hide in the toilets!