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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to think private school kids wearing their logoed school jumpers at the weekend is weird?

494 replies

zzzzzzzz12345 · 02/09/2019 22:47

Isn’t it a bizarre stealth boast, except it’s not stealthy at all and a bit attention seeking? I know several children who do this. If your child does, why?

You’d never catch a state educated child wearing their school jumper at the weekend. If my child started to, I’d suggest they changed.

OP posts:
Original poster
zzzzzzzz12345 · 03/09/2019 09:58

Manontry and bluntness - I’m assuming youve never heard of individual politics? Many of us on the left detest the private sector across what should be public services. It’s not a new phenomenon. It sits behind my OP, and your responses have confirmed my fears.

OP posts:
Manontry · 03/09/2019 09:59

In my experience, children who attend private school do not tend to boast or brag about it. It's as if they know they are lucky but are also conscious that it is not seemly to show off

Yes this is my experience.

What can they do though if some adults are triggered into a frothing rage if they so much as see a private school logo?

Manontry · 03/09/2019 10:00

It's a word and picture on a piece of clothing. If you attach negative connotations to it, then that's on you.

Bluntness100 · 03/09/2019 10:01

What can they do though if some adults are triggered into a frothing rage if they so much as see a private school logo?

Like the op, who has now admitted to just looking for a bun fight and "detests" the private sector.

Sigh.

Manontry · 03/09/2019 10:01

Yes. Wish i hadn't bothered now.

MerlinsScarf · 03/09/2019 10:03

So you're saying that the kids who wear school sports hoodies after sports fixtures, or uniform jumpers after their Saturday classes if it's a boarding school, are flaunting their brand? They won't be thinking twice about it, they probably just haven't been home to change yet!

We know families with children at boarding, state and private schools and to be honest, they all just think of their school as 'school'. Maybe some school pride at a special event, but again that's the same across the board.

The same for leavers or trip hoodies, they just pull them on because they're comfy and remind them of a fun time with friends.

SoupDragon · 03/09/2019 10:04

The British class system does weird things to people's brains.

What is that supposed to mean?

NearlyGranny · 03/09/2019 10:04

Isn't it odd that the most and least privileged children are the ones seen out in school uniform on the weekend? We did an exchange year abroad and when I saw indigenous children out and about on weekends in their faded and ragged logoed school shirts, I commented to my DH, the exchange teacher, how odd it was that they'd go out in uniform. He shot me a look and said, simply, "It's the only clothes they have." I felt pretty naive for not realising. The fee-paying children will have been at orchestra or debating or....

Butchyrestingface · 03/09/2019 10:04

Like the op, who has now admitted to just looking for a bun fight and "detests" the private sector.

Her attitude kinda leapt out from the OP, tbf.

youarenotkiddingme · 03/09/2019 10:05

I will add my ds hoody he wears with school logo is a state school! Also his sports club is very cheap compared to all other local ones and not known to be as successful. (But that's changing).

Having pride in belonging to something isn't something that comes from the private v state sector.

It comes from home, parents, teachers and coaches in whatever sector you're in.

My ds is far from the private sector as you can get. He's a disabled kid from a low income LP family!

kjhkj · 03/09/2019 10:05

What’s best for my kids is the local state school, so their demanding parents can be part of a wave that demands better education for everyone, not just the lucky few.

Hopelessly naive. All that happens if you stop private school is that the children who are privately educated go into the state sector and there are then fewer resources for all. So educational resources are spread even more thinly. Or is your model that those who privately educate their children are then forced to send their children to state school but also be forced to pay £30k for the privilege. Clearly not possible to implement and quite ridiculous.

What you actually mean is "if mine can't have it then I don't want anyone else to have it either"

I say all this as someone who was state educated. But I choose to send my DC to independent school over spending my money on other things.

And yes, saturday school/sports, mine have it every saturday and will often then go somewhere else still wearing a school hoodie.

BogglesGoggles · 03/09/2019 10:07

Is it their actual school jumpers though? Or jumpers with school logos? Two different things. We didn’t wear our uniforms out of school (because that’s weird). But we had a whole bunch of jumpers which had the school name/logo from trips, clubs, leavers etc. and those were worn because they were comfortable hoodies but not embarrassing in the way that going out and buying a bike hoodie to wear is. It was a sort of acceptable slovenliness because we already had those jumpers anyway so it’s not like we went out and spent our money with the intention of looking shabby, we just looked shabby because we were a bit lazy and slapped on the first thing we could find as we left the house.

SoupDragon · 03/09/2019 10:07

My OP is aimed exactly this kind of awful separatist snobbery.

But it's perfectly fine for you to be nasty and sneers and to think you are oh so superior to those who use private education?

ThunderingOn · 03/09/2019 10:09

'Like the op, who has now admitted to just looking for a bun fight and "detests" the private sector.'

But Bluntness what about your comment (for the third time) 'maybe not with the same pride'. Can you clarify?

Our dc all attend outstanding state schools. They are as 'proud' as kids tend to be about their schools but would not wear their uniform as leisure wear.

Why do you think private school kids have more pride. Is it because they think they are better than others which is the ops point?

Mrsjayy · 03/09/2019 10:10

Being able to afford private school but chosing not on principle is quite a privilige isn't it ?

BogglesGoggles · 03/09/2019 10:10

@kjhkj is right. My parents grew up in a country with no independent sector. The result was shit education for everyone. Having an independent sector is good for three reasons:

  1. It preserves resources for those who need it.
  2. It provides a bench mark against which to measure state education (in its absence the state sector could get away with being appalling because no one would know any better).
  3. It provides parents who have been failed by the state sector, don’t like the idea of the state educating their child, have some special requirement that the state doesn’t offer etc an alternative. Choice is the very definition of freedom.
Bluntness100 · 03/09/2019 10:11

Her attitude kinda leapt out from the OP

Yeah, I thought it was genuine though, ☹️

ifonly4 · 03/09/2019 10:12

DD had a scholarship at a private school. As said before, often three lessons on a Saturday, followed by sports ending 5pm, then she attended Sunday chapel. Private schools, staff and pupils, work very long hours.

passionfruit11 · 03/09/2019 10:14

My son is at a state school but whenever they play in a chess competition at the weekend they are required to wear school jumpers. Why does this actually bother you?

ItProtectsMyHead · 03/09/2019 10:14

At my DH's boarding school they had lessons on Saturday mornings and chapel on Sunday mornings. Uniform required for both. After lessons/chapel, upper school were allowed to visit the local town. Lower forms had to be in uniform when off the school grounds, sixth formers could wear their own clothes.

Maybe not all private schools do this but some definitely do.

Bluntness100 · 03/09/2019 10:14

But Bluntness what about your comment (for the third time) 'maybe not with the same pride'

I thought this was self explanatory and a pp has already explained it. Pride is not about state v private, it's about individuals and individual schools. Every kid should be proud of their school. Plenty of state school kids wear them, as evidenced by this thread, most kids if wearing a hoodie do so for convenience. If a kid doesn't wish to wear something with a school logo on, private or state, then potentially they don't have good feelings about that school, or maybe they just prefer their other clothes.

senua · 03/09/2019 10:15

Opening post: "You’d never catch a state educated child wearing their school jumper at the weekend. If my child started to, I’d suggest they changed."
But later: " What’s best for my kids is the local state school, so their demanding parents can be part of a wave that demands better education for everyone."

So you want "better education for everyone" but think it weird if students are happy to be associated, by "badge of honour", with their school. That's the problem, right there.
Lots of people are happy to wear the badge of honour of their football club (which they have no input to, apart from £££) so why not their school (which they do)?

NoSauce · 03/09/2019 10:21

DS wears his sports hoody sometimes at weekends. Probably out of laziness because it’s the nearest thing to hand rather than “boasting” Confused most of the kids round here go to his school anyway.

TomHagenMakesMyBosomTremble · 03/09/2019 10:21

Do you also have a problem with uni students wearing their uni hoodies, scarves and sports kit around, OP?

ThunderingOn · 03/09/2019 10:22

'Every kid should be proud of their school. Plenty of state school kids wear them, as evidenced by this thread, most kids if wearing a hoodie do so for convenience. If a kid doesn't wish to wear something with a school logo on, private or state, then potentially they don't have good feelings about that school, or maybe they just prefer their other clothes.'

Why do you think private school kids would have more 'pride'? Is it in fact because they feel superior? There are many excellent academies that state school kids attend, they are 'proud' to attend yet they don't wear the uniform for socialising because it would be weird.

Carry on with your agenda that the op is 'bitter' but your 'or the same pride?' comment was a bit of a clanger wasn't it?

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