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Original poster

To wonder why secondary school kids never wear coats even when it’s raining?

131 replies

Herbalteahippie · 11/10/2019 19:17

When I was at school in the early 90s it was uncool to wear a coat even when it was pudding down or cold. I even got punched and kicked for wearing a coat!
I live by a school and I see nothing has changed- drenched teenagers plodding home soaking wet.
Why?!

OP posts:
FreshPrince · 11/10/2019 19:59

At my DDs school they are not allowed to wear or carry coats around school, and putting wet coats in a school bag destroys their school books which are obviously important. Lockers are expensive and there is a limited number to go around, plus the sixth form tend to keep folders and textbooks in there. Even worse is some children have long outdoor walks between lessons where they get soaked through☹️

Original poster
Herbalteahippie · 11/10/2019 20:04

Can’t coats just go on the back of chairs? Madness!

OP posts:
iamabox · 11/10/2019 20:04

My SD 13 would rather be soaked and or freezing than wear a coat....I dont know why...its a perfectly good coat that she chose from River Island...

user1497207191 · 11/10/2019 20:06

Main reason is that there's nowhere to put them in school, no lockers, no cloakrooms, so kids have to carry them around with them (as of course the teachers don't let them be worn during school hours!!).

Tashalburrows · 11/10/2019 20:07

My daughters school have to take coats off as soon as they get through the school doors. It takes up space in there locker and is a faff so she just takes an umbrella for when it rains. It drives me nuts but she has enough to cram in her locker so I kind of get it.

spaniorita · 11/10/2019 20:09

When I was at college it was not the done thing to be seen in a coat. Coats were for the weak.

At school, on the other hand, coats were a very important fashion statement - Parkers one year, puffas another year and the green bomber jacket with orange lining was the coat everyone had to have another year.

Blue7 · 11/10/2019 20:11

Can’t coats just go on the back of chairs? Madness!

That's what we did at school and I presumed that's what DS does.

He got told off the other Winter for not having a coat on.

Bunnybigears · 11/10/2019 20:13

At DSs school all coats have to be handed in at student services at the beginning of the day and collected at the end of the day. All coats have to be black, student services is a broom cupboard size room, finding your coat and not missing the bus is an impossible task.

hazeyjane · 11/10/2019 20:14

Because if they wear coats they literally dissolve into a puddle of cringe.

Dustybun · 11/10/2019 20:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LolaSmiles · 11/10/2019 20:16

It's a mixed bunch at my school. They all have lockers but it's 50/50 on wearing coats.

Boys seem to wear coats more than girls in my experience. Girls seem more likely to have a scarf and an umbrella.

Tunnocks34 · 11/10/2019 20:22

I see this all the time in my school, and tights are apparently ‘angin’ so the girls would literally rather freeze than wear them.

Year 7s always come in with coats, tights, the full shebang and then by year 8 its phased away

HeyNotInMyName · 11/10/2019 20:30

The teens where we are tend to wear coats....
Yes I have seen some a few years ago with no coat when it was snowing so badly their jumper was turning white...

But in the last few years, there has been a reversal and all them have a coat now.

DianaT1969 · 11/10/2019 20:47

We should start a MN campaign to ensure all students have a locker big enough for a coat. Adults don't have to lug wet coats around inside all day along with a heavy bag of books, water bottle, sports kit and lunch. Adults don't change room every hour. Why should students be treated like mules. A metal locker is hardly extravagant. Build them in sheds and outbuildings if there isn't space in corridors.

Fizzysours · 11/10/2019 21:01

In my school we give them lockers like matchboxes... so there is nowhere for them to store a coat. Having said that, we don't force the girls to roll their skirts up but every kid does, despite us doling out 15 min detentions for it like sweeties....and they REFUSE to wear tights. Brrrrrr

Gileadisreal · 11/10/2019 21:03

Oh lord. I would love to know the answer to this question. And it's not as simple as 'not having the right coat' or 'it's a pain to carry', because I can guarantee the moment that there's a heatwave, mine are virtually ready for an arctic expedition. It literally makes no sense. But then, that's teenagers for you...

AliciaMayEmory · 11/10/2019 21:08

At DDs secondary school they are not allowed to wear coats inside and if the go in a coat they have to remove it before entering the building. They have no lockers and so they’ve all decided that unless it’s really cold, coats are more trouble than they are worth. I’ve bought DD one of those slim down-filled jackets you can roll up really small so she can wear it at the bus stop and then scrunch it in her bag once she’s on the bus. Seems to work for her.

AliciaMayEmory · 11/10/2019 21:09

She still only takes it if it’s really cold, mind!

JenniferM1989 · 11/10/2019 21:16

I was thinking the same thing today. I saw a whole heap of kids walking down my street from the local academy in just their school jumpers and it was only 11 degrees here in the north east of Scotland!

IveGotBillsTheyreMultiplying · 11/10/2019 21:18

The trick is to never ever tell them to put on a jacket.

They will learn to self-regulate like all other mammalian species.

PapayaCoconut · 11/10/2019 21:20

Bloody hell, this is depressing. I went to school in another country and we all had lockers to put our coats, books and gym kits in. The weather in this country is hardly compatible with a "no coats" policy! My poor children, I hope things have improved by the time they start secondary school... Imagine being cold or wet and uncomfortable every day during the colder months and then having to lug a heavy bag everywhere with you. We don't treat adults like that, so why children?

Toitoitoi · 11/10/2019 21:25

I didn't start wearing a coat until I was well in to my 20s Grin

SpreadsheetQueen · 11/10/2019 21:27

Because they are not allowed coats in school. Bloody ridiculous in a country where it rains most of the time.
Blazers are the most stupid garments, too hot for the summer, not warm enough or waterproof in winter and they're expected to wear them all the time.
Then people wonder why so many kids are driven to school, it's because they're wearing clothes that are totally unsuitable for being outside in.

Rhubardandcustard · 11/10/2019 21:31

School has lockers but they are in the tutor group classrooms so can’t access them when they need to if there is a lesson going on. Kids don’t bother therefore with the lockers and they are tiny, not even big enough for more than a few books! Kids have to carry everything they need on their backs and a coat is just another thing to lug around.

Singletomingle · 11/10/2019 21:34

I know of 1 school nearby that doesn't allow coats on school premises at all. Frequently see pupils soaking wet before and after school really don't see why as a parent I would avoid this school like the plague. Having said that the school in question was in special measures until recently not sure which way this falls.