To wonder if any other Secondary School does this?

[RhinoKey]

Have received all the details of the Secondary School that we hope DS will attend.

In the prospectus is a uniform list. Not just a bog standard list I expected, but much more specific - listing the shops that are acceptable to buy from, and even the actual trousers that can be purchased (with item codes).

Last night we went to the open evening and we were told firmly that only these pairs of trousers would be accepted. Also the Head said that the school had the toughest uniform he had come across and he was very proud of it.

AIBU to think that telling me which trousers I can buy for my DS (beyond colour) is a bit much??

I was head of year at a secondary school for 7 years and one thing that sent me mental was uniform!!! Kids will devise every trick in the book to 'adjust' and personalise uniform - an age old problem. However it is not funny when you have pubescent girls turning up like extras from so 'dodgy school girl' movie! It never fails to amaze me how SOME parents allow kids to dress for school - skirts so short that they wore shorts underneath to cover their modesty - just!! I am not a prude by any stretch of the imagination but there have to be limits and levels of what is appropriate and acceptable. I think parents should fully support uniform rules. Being so specific about suppliers is one way to tighten up the issues and from my experience not unusual in a school.

If they are going to be so specific then perhaps the school should just measure up the kids and provide them with school standard issue as they do in the army.

FWIW I think uniform is a tricky one, yes its nice when they all look the same but its open to so many interpretations that this becomes a bit of a mockery. I wish schools would just opt for tracksuit bottoms and polo shirts in summer and sweatshirts in winter, the kids could then look alike and more importantly be comfortable which goes a long way to them being able to learn well.

Rhinokey - x-post with you - the choice of 3 suppliers and three prices sounds reasonable.

I was going to say yanbu, but I think this is primarily a way of stopping the girls coming in in the ridiculous sorts of "school trouser" on sale in shops such as New Look and other offenders. These skin tight bottom hugging, low slung pant revealing garments are really not suitable school uniform and if you just specify black trouser, then that is what the girls will be wearing unfortunately. And the awful skinny jeans.

I wasn't aware there was that much difference in boys' school trousers between one shop and the next. If the shops stated are normal shops then I think it is alright. However, if you choose trousers that are pretty much identical, they are not going to be asking him to pull them down to have the barcode checked!

Saying if you don't like it pick another school doesn't work if you live in a town with only one school. So if the uniform is super pricey shops and not Marks and Spencer or cheaper, then I think a complaint to the governers is justified, especially if you have found perfectly smart trousers at half the price.

It's selction by affluence really.

I am fine with a strict unoiform but dictating whether the trousers come from ANOther shop or WE Getcommissionveryexpernice shop is just that; one can make a child look smart on £20 or £50, it's down to the values you hold not the size of your purse.

ur school does the uniform route albeit differently- uniform changes with each intake, issues in July, costs $400 all in (state); plenty of people would prefer to not apply for fear of that but to go anywhere else you ahve to get LEA permission to go out of catchment and that is usually refused.

DDs X high school has a very strict uniform policy, just as she was leaving they where tightening it up further, now all pupils must where the school trousers or skirt which are logoed and cost £25 from only 2 suppliers in the city, Blouses must be of a certain style (very difficult to find in childrens sizes outside of the uniform suppliers), jumpers logoed again 2 suppliers. The really difficult bit is buying the PE kit, all kit must be logoed and embroided with their name, you can not buy any unembroided kit (and have a friend do it instead) and there is only 1 supplier for this kit. This is a state school.
Because of all the embroidery on the PE kit none of it can be passed down or donated as once it is unpicked the fabrics are ruined. I tried as I couldn't stand throwing away decent uniform when I knew others would apprecite it as it is so expensive.
DS School is very different, the only logoed kit is his blazer which you can buy plain and sew a badge on, the school tie and the rugby kit which is school socks and top. The rest of the uniform can be bought from anywher as long as it fits into the requirements. Even though there is greater freedom in where you can purchase the uniform from it doesn't mean that the standards are any less than they were in DDs school, the difference? DS school enforces the rules.

Our primary: (I know this is comp but as an example)

very tiny catchment, less than 10% in catchment everyone else has to pretty much beg

T Shirt from school shop £8

3 from tesco £3

difference nil

school can pull your place if out of catchment, we however are within it so he wears Tesco

ds1's school has a strict uniform policy, and they have uniform cards which can be marked for not wearing the uniform correctly/ not having the correct uniform, sports kit or class equipment. 5 strikes and it's an after school detention!
ds2 will be going to a different school, with a uniform but not so strict. you can tell the difference, a large chunk of them look a total state. girls with skirts round their necks, boys with trousers round their ankles and don't even start me on the hair!
I definitely prefer ds1's school. IME if they are taking care of their uniform they're also taking care of their school work.

It's all very well schools saying only one type of trouser is permitted but if you have a DD like mine, 5'6" adult size 6, the trousers simply don't fit her. To get the right length they are literally about 8" too big around the non-adjustable waist. If schools are going to limit choice so severely they need to offer a huge range of sizes. Look at your average teenager - my DD has friends between 4'11" and 6', ranging in dress size from Age 11 kids clothes to size 16 adult clothes. Some of them are almost completely flat chested and others are well endowed. It is not the case that the five footers will have no bust or hips, or that the six footers will have an adult figure. The school sizes go 32, 34, 36, etc (which I think relates to bust or hip size) but seem to be very generously proportioned. Half her friends can't wear the 'correct' uniform I've had this argument with the school and now send her in wearing the 'wrong trousers'. These uniform policies piss me off sometimes. It's all done in the name of 'smartness', but there's nothing smart about a polo shirt that ends four inches above a child's knees, or a pair of trousers that won't stay up. The schools need to offer a choice of outlets, not a single one.

They can't pull your place for wearing the wrong polo shirt. Primary school uniform rules are not legally enforcible, they are just guidelines. If they tried to chuck you out over a polo shirt you couldn't afford, surely they would lose on appeal?

The logoed and embroidered kit is ridiculous as there is no way of low income families saving money by buying second hand. An LEA uniform grant wouldn't even cover a fraction of that cost.

Ingles - have you ever wondered why the boys' trousers are 'round their ankles'. Maybe the uniform trousers aren't offered in their size...

You can tell that I am new to the whole secondary thing - I am shocked at how expensive the prices are, especially as DS is only in a size 7-8 trouser.

:o

nah it's not that woolly... they all want to have their pants on show.
They can't even walk properly, bless them

Well then you should have said 'round their arse' Ingles

But what you say is true about the schools making sure they have a range of suppliers to fit a range of sizes. Ds1 is yr 7 and also 5'6, a big strapping boy with size 9 feet...it's not been easy to find trousers with wide enough legs but small enough round the waist.

t'is lower than arse...more knee level

But if you only had a choice of three pairs of trousers then what would you do Ingles, if non of them fit?

I was throwing away Polo Shirts, Jumpers and PE skirts purely because DD had grown out of them, there was nothing wrong with them, but because I couldn't unpick all the embroidery no one else could use them. At a cost of £15 each shirt, £20 skirt and £25 for the jumper it was a lot of money to waste after only 12 months wear.
I drew the line at buying a Lacrosse kit, even though the school in their equipment list (handed out with prospectus) said it was neccessary, the girls where only ALLOWED to play it in year 10 and then it was extra curriculum.

I'd do what I had to do with ds's trousers Rhino... I altered them to fit.

At my secondary school there was the choice of Bainbridges and that was it. When you went into the store you said the school name and they brought you one of everything. No other option. No discussion. And it wasn't a private school.

It made life a hundred times easier for teachers to 'police' it, and a hundred times easier for students who never had to worry about what the 'in' style of school trousers were

DDs school is like this.

The girls have a choice of 3 styles of skirt which are sold at a local uniform shop. No other style of skirt is allowed. The only trousers the girls can wear are the one style, with the school badge on the waistband, from the same shop.

I can see why they've done it but its also very irritating when you have a petite DD who needs adjustable waists to make things fit.

However, I have been told that although the school emphasise how strict their uniform policy is before your child starts there and during year 7, they ease off a bit later on.

Unfortunately this is very common. My niece's secondary school has to have uniform purchased from John Lewis and she is offered a choice of 3 skirts from that range only. She wears a white blouse but because it has to have a round corner collar this also can't be easily bought elsewhere.

In addition to this she also has a ridiculous amount (10 items) of specific PE kit which can only be brought from John Lewis.

Add to that the blazer, cardi, shoes and bag and school uniform costs about £300 for one child at a state school!

RhinoKey
But if you only had a choice of three pairs of trousers then what would you do Ingles, if non of them fit?

I hope this isn't becoming the norm because I've already had issues with a fairly relax primary school uniform and DC with eczema - their usual top colours not having a 100% cotton alternative and synthetics causing flare ups.

UGH to the polyester shite that a lot of Secondaries insist on! DD's uniform isn't this strict (thankfully, or she'd be in clothes from when she started Y7 even now in Y9 when she's grown over 12 inches since then...). However - I have to take issue, RhinoKey, with the fact that M&S trousers being too expensive - DD's black school trousers are from M&S at 2 for £12 - and they are the best, longest lasting school trousers I have ever bought for her!

My main gripe is the overpriced PE kit - which is cheaper and less restrictive for girls that it is for boys (Sexism in girls favour?). Plain white polo, plain black tracksuit trousers - but a sweatshirt that costs £16 a size, and PE socks that shrink even when washed at 30 degrees and cost £5 each - DD needs a set every half term because once you've washed them 4/5 times, they are unwearable! They HAVE to come from the school, because they are a different colour for each 'house' and have the 'house' name embroidered on the shin and sole!

The polyester crap in the boys footy kit has to be seen to be believed, and I only hope they relax that a little by the time DS2 goes, because his excema will be terrible if not!