to ask: What's the point in school uniforms?

[allrightluv]

They serve no purpose and promote conformity. Differences in income are expressed in other ways - shoes, bags, mobiles, in fact, even more so. Kids are judged by which school they go to (state/private). Thanks to the uniform you can tell by a mile off. Kids wear brands anyway - after school, at the weekends and in the holidays, so it's not any cheaper to wear a uniform to school. Consumerism is the most pronounced in the UK of all European countries.

Other countries like Sweden have no uniforms at school and few uniforms in work life, too, and rate much higher in terms of kids' happiness etc.

I'm not saying there's a causal link, but uniforms are not helping...

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Uniform makes the week days sooo much easier. They get their stuff out the night before and just put it on in the morning. When they've 'won' a non-uniform day for their class its murder with them deciding what to wear.

And I don't mind if the shoes can't be worn anywhere else, we walk to school and by the time they grow out of them they are so knackered that they are not fit to be worn anywhere else.

Our school has its own bus and takes the kids on a trip every half term. I should think looking after a bunch of children that are all dressed the same makes the day much easier for the teachers to keep track of where they all are.

[NorthernLurker]

As the majority of school have a uniform I would like to know how many of you uniform lovers actually have experience of a school that is entirely non-uniform?

I do. My third child is currently in Year 1 and her older sisters both went through the same school. So that's nearly 16 school years worth. None of them have EVER come home upset about their clothes or the clothes other children wore. Nothing has been 'ruined'. I love sending my children to school dressed as them not as a dowdy clone. I love that I simply refresh their wardrobes all year round not in a panic sticken 'their skirts are too short burst'.
My child's school has excellent results and discipline. The jumper you wear isn't going to take an exam for you. We don't argue in the morning. They know what is 'for best' and anything else can be worn and enjoyed.

What the parents in this country SHOULD be doing is shouting loud and long for the burden of uniform to be removed from our primary schools. I think sending 4 yr olds to school in plastic trousers and bland shirts and blithering sewatshirts is borderline cruel actually.
'Uniform is easier'...er no it isn't actually. If you think it is you're deceiving yourself.

[guineapiglet]

I agree with a lot of posters about the price of 'the school uniform shop' and only one supplier - these are monopolies which cost a fortune - a plain white blouse with TINY school logo at my daughter's state school cost £9 a throw..... but uniforms can promote a sense of 'corporate' identity and hopefully loyalty to the school, are enormously practical in many respects - they just need to be cheaper.

My main gripe is the strict adherence to blazers in winter - why is this necessary? Wouldnt it be better for schools to just stipulate that from Oct to March kids should just wear plain black warm and waterproof winter coats - no blazers. OR coats with school logo as long as not too expensive. I see most of the kids round here wearing blazers in all weathers because the schools insist they have to wear coats on top of blazers - this is just plain stupid - if it is raining or snowing then most normal people would wear something functional and appropriate to the climate. Kids just wont wear winter coats ON TOP of these - therefore arrive home wet through or frozen because they dont want to look uncool wearing two layers - the schools insist they wear blazers in class, so the coat therefore has to be stuffed into school bag - it is crazy.

[naughtycloud1]

i,m lucky that my daughters uniform is quite simple at the moment. i can understand if you were going to a private school or for that matter any other school it would be quite expensive. but if you payed in a private school wouldent you want your son and daughter to look smart with there uniform? has i,m sure you would want them to look smart in a non privateschool wearing tescos brand.

[lynniep]

Well I like uniform. What I don't like is the 'branding' of uniform that pushes the price up as you can only buy it from specific suppliers at hiked up prices. If a school chooses a colourway that can be bought locally and easily then I'm all for it. I think it promotes a sense of belonging and it does make like easier for ME. I am not deceiving myself, thank you. Borderline cruel? PMSL.

[theodorakisses]

For me, it stopped me standing out as the Clothkits kid. Everyone else had lLadybird. Bloody hippy parents...

[Toast123]

Uniform gives children something practical and comfortable to wear, imagine a load of floaty skirts and ballet pumps. Or changing for swimming with fiddly buttons and straps on things. Or being too hot/ cold.
Scruffy uniforms are awful so I do think schools need to be fairly strict on what is/ isn't allowed.
Also I do not fancy naming every piece of clothing they own!

[Ragwort]

Well, I am very happy to send my DS to school looking like a dowdy clown ; personally I loathe the obsession with 'fashion' and 'appearance' both for children and adults (and I used to work in the fashion industry, it is so shallow ). I am delighted my DS doesn't have to obsess over what he wears for school; his school doesn't have 'exclusive' type uniform, most of it is bog standard and can be bought from the supermarket or charity shops.

I was more than happy to send him to primary school in uniform, wish there had been uniform at nursery actually .

We all have different opinions of what is 'easier' - and the fuss he makes about what to wear for his youth club is enough to put up with once a week !

[morethanpotatoprints]

Since we started H.ed in September dd's wardrobe fiasco winds me up and I would love to go back to a uniform just some of the time.
There is no choosing what to wear, fewer items to wash, and as others have said not ruining clothes with glue etc.

I do think dc like uniform though and can miss it when no longer there. My dd is designing her own atm and using fabric paint on her t shirt, lol.

[kimorama]

I never wore one. But can see there are advantages and disadvantages.

[NorthernLurker]

Toast I don't name anything other than coats and gloves and PE kit. Because they all wear their own clothese they are all dressed differently. There's no need to name anything because you're not trying to distinguish between 26 identical trousers or shirts.

In terms of practical my daughter is wearing spotty cord trousers today with a scottish rugby shirt first owned by her big sister. Time to take on or off - about 10 seconds. She looks lovely

[PurpleStorm]

I like uniforms.

I used to get very very stressed about non-uniform days at school. I'd have been a nervous wreck of a child if I'd had to pick out my own clothes every day.

But I do agree that schools should try and make them affordable for parents and not insist on them all being branded clothes from one expensive supplier.

[HoratiaWinwood]

I went to a non-uniform primary, then uniform for senior school, and v strict dress code in sixth form.

I remember my friends at a different sixth form being admiring and envious of my plain black suit, white shirt, any plain v-neck jumper when I visited them one lunchtime.

On the whole I think uniform is pointless and indulgent at primary school; uniform is useful at secondary school so long as it is sensible (jumpers, preferably not cheap logo crap, and not blazers, etc); and professional dress code for sixth form sensible and good practice for adulthood. Very few workplaces have no dress code at all.

[DonderandBlitzen]

I'm interested to know what the three outfits are that everyone wears in Sweden.

[NorthernLurker]

Purplestorm - my experience is that if own clothes are the norm the stress is actually much, much less. Clothes are clothes, something to cover the body. When it's non-uniform days only it is a much bigger deal. You cannot take the child's reaction to a non-uniform day as a representation of how they would react to no uniform ever. It's a completely different scenario.

[allrightluv]

what NorthernLurker said.

[sayanything]

I'm pro uniform as well. Had to wear one throughout my school years and the fact that I didn't have to concern myself with what I would wear everyday was great - especially in those awful teenage years when you're really self-conscious.

I'm not so sure about the UK way of going about things though. I spent a few years in Cyprus and there all schools - whether public or state - have the same uniform. It's impossible to tell which school one attends and you can buy the uniform from just about anywhere. Downside, it was truly horrible and girls could only wear skirts in my day (I gather this has now changed).

[MagicMN]

OP, i recommend you to go to a secondary school in italy and see the effect of not having a uniform.
In primary, until the age of ten, we must use "grembiuli" like this one. www.thehouseofblog.com/divertimenti/i-grembiuli-per-la-scuola-elementare-piu-amati-dai-bambini/attachment/grembiule-blu-scuola-elementare-bambina-trilli/

But from 11 to 18 it is a cruel fashion show. And it is so nice not to have battles in the morning. How many arguments with my mother when i was 14 because i wanted to wear a very short skirt, or i wanted Armani jeans at school.
No, the uniforms are to be kept!!!!

[MagicMN]

www.thehouseofblog.com/divertimenti/i-grembiuli-per-la-scuola-elementare-piu-amati-dai-bambini/attachment/grembiule-blu-scuola-elementare-bambina-trilli/

[cheeseandpineapple]

Conferencepear, is it possible that the girls' preening and self consciousness on mufti day is because they are not used to wearing their non uniform clothes with their friends and that it heightens the discrepancy outside of school or when they are allowed non uniform clothes at school?

My kids don't wear uniforms. My daughter loves to preen but she saves that for the weekends and wears, practical, functional, clothes to school. The children barely give each other a second glance during the week or on weekends about what they're wearing as it is so natural for them to be in their regular clothes.

I was always paranoid about what to wear outside of school when meeting my friends as there was so much competition to look cool outside of uniform. This pressure wouldn't be so intense if you don't have a uniform, as the tendency is to adopt certain types of clothes for school, in effect a type of uniform develops but without the pressure to compete on clothes, particularly if it starts from an early age and that's all you've ever known.

I also think non uniform gives a school a more creative ambience. Uniforms create a more formal, serious environment. Maybe that's what some people want, particularly as children get older.

But as it happens, work places are getting more casual these days.

I can see the advantages of uniform too but for now, happy not to have them and my kids are too.

[Toast123]

Northern, my children board so I have to name stuff so it can be washed etc.
Spotty cords do sound gorgeous and practical.
I asked the children I teach if they liked their uniform or how they would change it and the answer was a definite yes they liked it and the occasional non- uniform day was fun too.

[Sprink]

My children actually do have choice about what to wear, as their school has a multi-coloured option for shirts and jumpers. Never once have I seen or heard my boys express a preference of colour. One, however, tells me constantly that he won't be wearing his coats, hats, or gloves, thanks very much it's a pain to lug and it gets too hot when we're playing football at lunchtime, mummy.

The other boy wants to never wear a jumper. Ever. Presumably for the rest of his life.

My daughter is another story. She wants to wear 'clip clop' heels to school, she wants to wear 'go go' boots to school, she wants to wear summer dresses in December, and have rainbows swirl around her everywhere she goes.

Now I think of it, their personalities are coming through quite clearly. Even though they're constrained by the evil school uniform. ;-)

[allrightluv]

MagicMN, that might be the case for Italy, but it isn't in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Holland, Switzerland and France (don't know about the other countries).

[honeytea]

I'm interested to know what the three outfits are that everyone wears in Sweden.

Dark jeans with a shirt and jumper

Jeans/shorts with a white light material top for women (but only very close to midsummer)

Jeans and a simple top for women the rest of the year.

You can only buy black jackets, you need a winter and a spring/autumn jacket but both must be black.

Everyone drives navy blue Volvo estates.

All the children are tall and blonde, I once lost 2 children in a kids museum and asked a security guard if he had seen them, I told him tge were tall and blonde and he said all kids are tall and blonde.

[nokidshere]

It doesn't bother me one way or the other to be honest, although my younger son would take much longer to get dressed each day if he had to wear own clothes!!! He is such a little diva!! They go to a school with uniform so they wear it - although I do think PE kits should be made much cheaper - do they really need a logo on navy shorts?

I have one boy who would live in the same pair of trackies and t shirt given the chance, and one that wouldn't be seen dead in trackies.

I do think it could be easier though - a uniform for all of black trousers and white top with maybe just a jumper with a logo (easier to identify when 5 schools all the same events)