To wish schools didn't have uniforms?

[bluebird14]

I hate them

Maybe it is different at secondary

I think it can be, my ds couldn't care less about what he wears and I doubt he would get any sort of hassle from anyone. My dd on the other hand...

It's obvious who the poor kids are anyway

^ really

I totally agree OP. Many other countries have less bullying stats and no uniform. Some uniform items are way more costly than I would pay for normal clothes. Our school constantly has non uniform days anyway for charity. You spend a fortune on uniform then you are constantly paying a pound for the kids not to wear them. Would rather my child was comfortable in their own clothes.

I went to a school in London that didn’t have a uniform, OP and the grass isn’t greener.

Money - my Mum said it was a lot more expensive getting clothes for me than it was for my older sibling who had a uniform and shopping took sooooooo much longer for the ‘right’ things (that both me and my Mum liked and that would be acceptable at school)

Hideous - Oh you should have seen some of the hideous 90s fashion I wore (and there are school photos as lasting memory)

Comfortable - we still tried to get round the rules with questionable clothing (bare shoulders, showing midriffs, short skirts or shorts vs oversized coats that got in the way, hats etc)

Stupid Petty Rules - we still had these including hair styles and garish hair dyes etc., and there were more ‘diverse’ issues for he poor teachers to deal with as we got more and more creative.

Poor Kids - sorry OP but it is glaringly obvious who the poor kids are in no uniform as opposed to just a little bit, but in this way, your nose gets rubbed in it on a daily basis.

Time Spent Dealing With It - lessons were still disrupted by inappropriate clothing (ever remember those ‘Bodys’ that were like swimming costumes with poppers at your crotch? They would pop undone regularly, as just one example). We also still had a school PE kit that would come with the same issues.

Uniforms are so much more easier, although I do agree that some schools take it too far sometimes

I wish summer dresses could be worn all year round it’s bit that cold in winter.

We don’t have a uniform but wish we did.

My daughter is in high school and not yet into labels but I know from other parents that they all want the latest “in” brand / high end designer items and the pressure to keep up / change each year for what is in, is immense at that age. All very well me saying it doesn’t matter that you don’t have X but it matters a great deal to a 15 year old. Uniforms make it much easier to stop this form of peer pressure

One of my DCs goes to a school with no uniform and in fact barely a policy on what to wear. Seems to work really well with no problems. Really nice not to have to worry about buying uniform. He basically wears jeans or chinos and a t shirt most of the time and trainers which are a lot more hardwearing than school shoes.

Also lots of countries in Europe and around the world often don't have uniform and it doesn't seem to have caused them any problems.

I'd prefer a school without uniform. It's not the great leveller it's claimed to be - kids will always compete over the must-have shoes/bag/coat/pencil case, plus the condition of the uniform itself tells you about the family circumstances of the kid. Kids still need enough clothes to take them through the 6 week summer break, and mine certainly don't wear out most stuff before it's grown out of, so uniform is an additional expense.

My DC attend the borough's music centre on a Saturday for orchestra. There's no dress code whatsoever, and yet all the kids just wear jeans/leggings/tshirt/hoodie because it's comfortable and practical. I'd bet if we dropped uniforms school would be the same.

Plus the sight this afternoon of all the sweaty secondary school kids wearing or lugging blazers home in 28 degree heat is ridiculous.

All my USA friends wish their schools had uniform. They still spend quite a bit on school clothes as they buy suitable clothes that are just for school. (They also have to provide all writing books, pens, pencils, paints, glue sticks, folders etc)

Schools that insist on expensive uniform are going against DOE rules, and should be reported.

What do you think the DofE do with those reports. Having read complaints about expensive uniform for a long as I have been on mumsnet, I would assume the DofE will do absolutely nothing!

I don't think the whole concept of uniform is wrong I do however think they need to rethink the prices and also the suitability in seasons. Like no blazers and ties in summer and maybe add a jumper on winter.

I wouldn't mind uniform so much if it was more comfortable, rather than some sort of 1950s fantasy. DD has sensory issues and is distracted by anything that rubs - shirt cuffs and collars, waistbands without elastic etc. As a PP said, why not tracksuits, and a range of options?

A lot of large companies these days have a mix and match set of options for staff in uniform. It all coordinates and it is obvious who are staff, but people can choose what suits their beliefs, body, comfort etc

Uniforms are fine. Passing a small fortune for a specific item less so.

At secondary school we wore an a-aline double from pleat skirt. They had to be bought from the school. Blazer had be bought from school. Jumper had a specific trim so had to be bought from school.

At DS's primary is black our grey bottoms, not leggings or jeans. Polo shirt with school emblem bit I've seen kids in plain tshirts of the right colour too. Genetic sensible shoes. Specific cardi or jumper but again have seen general blue too. We live in a working class, low income area, there uniform flexibility sensibly reflects that

Didn’t wear it when I was at school and was glad of it, don’t support it now. Kids just need to be comfortably dressed, clean and reasonably neat. Ties and blazers are ridiculous in a school environment.

I neve had a school uniform in the 80s/90s (S Yorks decided they were 'elitist' and banned them, then reintroduced then just as I left school. I wasn't particularly into fashion as a teenager, but still spent ages every day decidigng what to wear, arguing over how I was dressed with my parents, refusing to wear anything that would get me bullied... You get the idea. Kids were shunned for not wearing the latest trainers/flared jeans/branded t-shirts. I created so much laundry - I did it myself from the age of 12 so I know!

I'm contrast my kids know exactly what they're wearing each day, no one is tormented for wearing the wrong brand and there's no arguments over whether their clothes count as 'provocative' or not (my mother asked my school to back her up on their dress code once, which stated no jeans. They refused, pointed out that 99% of pupils wore jeans every day and said as long as I wasn't dressed provocatively I was fine! She wasn't impressed).

Jeez, forgive all those typos in my previous post! I don't have my specs on!

I went to school
in a country without school uniform. great for tich kids, the rest of us actually asked (unsuccessfully) for school uniform to be introduced. Why?
-fashionable brands are visible - everybody immediately sees if you have them or not, and how many (i.e. a different pair of expensive shoes for every day)

• fashionable brands are expensive. if your parents don't have money, you get bullied
• fashion changes a lot. impossible to keep up

-to keep up would have cost a fortune: 5-6 pairs of branded trainers, labelled jeans, tops, jumpers and 2-3 coats. 2-3 sets of sports gear. There are always kids who have that, they sre often spoiled and you will have bullies. I dreaded going into school because i didn't have money for clothes.

I’d support simpler uniforms. A senior school uniform of jeans, polo, and hoodie would be much more comfortable for the kids. I’m lucky my daughter’s school has a relatively cheap uniform, £7 polo, £15 jumper and plan black formal trousers and black shoes from wherever. She’d be happier in jeans and a hoodie though.

I've found non-uniform far easier than uniform, having sent my kids to schools that do both.

Uniform per se is not a problem. Uniform which is impractical and uniform rules which are petty and heavily enforced are a problem.

I have never seen any practical benefit of anyone wearing a tie in any environment. Not a single one. I have seen numerous health and safety drawbacks, but absolutely no actual benefits.
I have never thought "oooh, you know what colour shirt would be least likely to end up stained and grubby looking in a short period of a time? A white one!"
I don't find 'formal' type trousers to be conducive to the physical activity it is drummed into us that children and young people do not do enough of, cool in summer, warm in winter, hard wearing or long lasting.
I have never seen a school blazer be anything other than impractical, ugly and a focal point for disputes between children and staff. They tend to be the most expensive uniform item and look the cheapest and nastiest.
I have never known anyone's ability to learn, develop and attain academically to be impaired by the wearing of a non formal shoe, or a shoe not of a certain colour.

Schools seem to have become really quite ridiculously petty over uniform since I last attended. DS1's school texted last Monday and this to graciously inform us that children had permission not to wear their blazers to school. Why the fuck we need permission not to wear a blazer in 30 degree heat is beyond me- anyone who expected my ds to wear a heavy jacket on top of a long sleeve shirt during a heatwave would be regarded by me as an intellectually deficient aresehole who shouldn't be in charge of dressing themselves, let alone make decisions as to what it is and is not suitable for other people to wear. DS1 got a detention this year for having short black socks rather than knee length black socks for one PE lesson... a detention over the length of socks?!

I'm afraid that when a school is obsessed with uniform I tend to believe that they prioritise style over substance and that their priorities are skewed.

They still spend quite a bit on school clothes as they buy suitable clothes that are just for school

My kids just wear their regular clothes to school. I've no idea why you'd buy 'other' clothes.

Just saw the poster above mentioning competing anout the latest pencil case. that is still the csse in non uniform schools, just a million times worse.
i do agree that school uniform should be practical (my son's school normally has blazer and tie, but in winter the blazer stays in school and they wear a navy wintercoat, and for the last 2 weeks blazer and tie were not necessary as it was too hot. just dimple adjustments (boys wear short sleeved shirts and csn wear smart shorts in summer)

I work in a school and wish we didn’t have uniforms. I’d settle for a basic one like black trousers + polo shirt. White shirts are see through which doesn’t help with self consciousness/ bra wearing.

I don’t have a problem with school uniform. The impractical and uncomfortable poly/cotton shirts, ties, blazers etc are unnecessary in my opinion. Kids look so hot at this time of year. My DD has autism and sensory processing disorder. No idea how she will cope with secondary uniform. I am also very sensitive to clothing but luckily when I went to school you could buy from anywhere as long as they were light blue shirt and navy skirt or trousers. And a tie but no one checked if hey we’re on properly so they could be fairly loose. As an adult I have chosen a job that doesn’t require a uniform. It is possible.