to think school can cock off with their "patented shade of grey" £17 a pop trousers?

[QoFE]

Normal state secondary school, new head so obvs we need a costly uniform change (less than 5 years after the last uniform change) to reflect the new regime

Despite significant parental opposition (I know because I went to the so called "consultation") we now have to stump up for logoed blazers and ties. Expensive but hey ho, suck it up, whatever.

Except an email has just gone out reminding parents that the trousers and skirts HAVE to be one specific and expensive brand and cannot be cheapy or second hand because wait for it....

they are a patented shade of grey looks like tesco grey to me but what do I know

WTF? Is this even legal? The trousers start at £17 a pair FFS and ones to fit a 6th former are nearly £30

Ask for the patent number.

That's awful. Every time I read a thread like this I'm shocked that schools in England can get awat with this (assuming you're in England). We're in Scotland and it just doesn't happen.

My kids go to a high achieving state school. The only items with logos are the ties (£5) and blazer (£30 - one of the washable ones). The rest of the uniform is black and white. As long as your daughter's skirt is an appropriate length and your son's trousers are tailored and not jeans, they don't care if you get them from Prada or Primark. Even schools with a more unusual colour combo (one nearby has purple jumpers) don't insist on one supplier - that's entirely the preserve of fee-paying schools.

Think MN needs to start a campaign on this. It's outrageous.

It does save so much wasted time arguing over skinny jeans, leggings, chinos etc. I wish our school would just specify a pair of trousers.

Its a way for a school to bring in much needed funds

They pulled this 20 years ago with a school local to me (beige cords in their case) - trouble was they were really hot on it for the first year..

How are they going to stay that patented shade of grey anyhow - my kids M&S ones change shade as they're washed through the year, their ones are bound to too.

My school has just gone over to.a tartan skirt only available from the local school shop. I think there should be rules against sort of thing.

It also is needed as stucdents and parents are incapable at times of following uniform codes, and then run off to the DM with a sad face about why their spray on skinny jogging shot them suspended.

Compulsory trousers = no leeway or arguments

My dds had to wear kilts at £36 in the early 00s. No I would not shorten them and they lasted the whole time,

I'd contact the supplier and ask for the patent number.

I'm perfectly happy about blazers, ties and tartan skirts being bought from a set supplier as long as the rest of thr uniform can be obtained anywhere else and the PTA do a second hand sale of uniform.

But I agree with sweep, they've probably done it to reduce the inevitable arguments that happen in September. In the last week of term when I had to do thr uniform reminders and give letters out I had 6 girls all wanting to know why they can't wear x y z because it's not fair they have to wear black trousers that are neither too wide or too skinny.

But can't they have affordable compulsory trousers?

Really the school managed to patent a shade of grey? What total dickheads.

How did they manage that exactly?

I think it's outrageous. Is it an academy by any chance?

DD has to wear a specific branded blazer, skirt, shirt and jumper, and entire PE kit including leotard and skort and rugby kit.

They do have a second hand uniform shop but even so. Normal state school.

DS's school is better, only the jumpers, ties, pe t shirt, rugby shirt and polo tops in the summer.

Thank fuck DS2 is at primary for another six years as I can get all of his (except his jumper!) in Tesco.

It's madness, really.

DS's school also has a specific shade of grey that's only available from one supplier half an hour away in the middle of nowhere who doesn't deliver. Not quite as expensive as yours but not cheap - and no sales, no Clubcard points, no 20% off deals.

V annoying but at least they don't talk nonsense about it being patented because there's nothing like schools stating blatant untruths in their letter to send me off the edge.

I've never bought trousers or shirts from the school shop, only blazers, ties and the odd PE top.
We did once experience the new headteacher specifying a new uniform. Luckily it was my son's last year and I just ignored the demands.
Katn yeah, but they could specify a pair from Asda or Tesco that people could actually afford.
Funny how people on this forum seem to think that £17 is a reasonable amount to pay for a pair of school trousers. I think it's extortionate.

It's a way for a school to bring in much needed funds

Another excellent way to bring in 'much needed funds' is to not waste money on pretentious crap like patenting a shade of grey.

It's complete and utter bunkum. In fact the demands being placed on parents in England is outrageous. I honestly have never seen quite this level of dictatorship in Scotland.

I'm coming to the conclusion that school uniforms should be abolished to stop this bizarre fixation that's developing. Children in other countries seem to be educated perfectly well without having to wear them.

They are not supposed to do this. The DfE guidance states:

^The School Admissions Code 2012, which is statutory guidance, states “Admission authorities must ensure that […] policies around school uniform or school trips do not discourage parents from applying for a place for their child.” No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform. School governing bodies should
therefore give high priority to cost considerations. The governing body should be able to demonstrate how best value has been achieved and keep the cost of supplying the uniform under review.

When considering how the school uniform should be sourced, governing bodies should give highest priority to the consideration of cost and value for money for parents. The school uniform should be easily available for parents to purchase and schools should seek to select items that can be purchased cheaply, for example in a supermarket or other good value shop. Schools should keep compulsory branded items to a minimum
and avoid specifying expensive items of uniform eg expensive outdoor coats.^

Guidance here

I'd be asking the governing body to demonstrate how this new uniform meets the above criteria

Googling suggests that it's very unlikely they've patented the colour, although they may have patented the method of producing it. They may have registered it as part of a trademark. Yes, I know that's not really the issue.

The obsession over what kids wear to school is ridiculous imo. How they behave and what they learn is what matters.

It also is needed as stucdents and parents are incapable at times of following uniform codes

This doesn't seem to be a huge issue at my kids' school - on the whole the parents are incredibly supportive of school and make sure their kids conform. My eldest who is 15 says that only a couple of kids he knows of have been pulled up - usually for trying to pass a pair of black jeans as tailored trousers. Most parents are also aware that buying black school skirts or trousers from M&s or Asda is far better value than buying a fashion brand.

There has to be a middle ground between insisting on expensive items from one supplier only and kids turning up in leggings and micro-minis.

That's ridiculous. When I were a lass, we had a blazer for 3 years (any, you just got a badge sewn on), tie, and any grey bottoms, then a senior tie with a white shirt and any black bottoms with a black jumper or cardigan!

Nieces attend expensive private school. They sensibly tell parents which M&s summer dress, skirt etc is the acceptable one. It has a little code. It's not as cheap as tesco but far cheaper than the 'one supplier only exclusive fiddly design' uniforms schools insist on. I simply cannot understand why state schools can't manage this.

I live in a traditionally working class area with a high proportion of families earning brlowcthe average wage.

Every single secondary school in the city has only available from one supplier logoed skirts. I don't agree with it but I doubt you'll change it.

noeffingidea
There's a group parents/kids who complain the most at the cost of having to buy the few single supply items (blazer, tie, skirt) are the same people who buy spend £80 on school shoes or trainers masquerading as shoes and send the kids in with Michael Kors handbags as school bags (the MK bags are also broken by October half term and replaced with another).

Always think it's a bit of a joke when people like that complain because you know that if it wasn't single supplier, they wouldn't do what most people do on here and buy a cheaper one. They'd go and use it as another excuse to show off their money.

Should add, I don't like schools going entitled single supplier but I can see why it happens.