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

[Herbalteahippie]

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?!

@soggypizza It’s a school rule that hoodies and jackets aren’t to be worn in class. Personally, I don’t really care, but it’s part of my job to enforce school rules. When one teacher decides not to bother it makes everyone else’s job harder.

soggy
The school I can understand it is all in one building and students have lockers so there's no reason to have them all lugging coats around during the day.
It's another thing to get in the way at lesson changeover, they get dropped and left around the building (because most don't wear them indoors between lessons).

The boots rule im not sure on. One place I worked stopped boots because the trend was UGG boots and they had the issue of parents seeing "plain black leather or polishable shoes/boots" and deciding that obviously meant wear UGG boots or fake uggs. Nobody was wearing proper boots and to be honest, I've not seen kids wearing them in secondary for years.

Like I say, I'm not saying I support all of these rules or would choose them myself, just that I can see why some schools night implement them. The coat rule in another school (like the one I mentioned with a big site and lots of movement between buildings) seem totally stupid to me because the coats have to go on/off/on/off every five seconds, which in not convinced makes a good lesson transition

My girls wear their coats - but - as they themselves say - they run with "the nerd herd", not "the populars" so can wear what they like. They just carry them round indoors - they do this special roll thing - where they put the wet sides together and roll the coat into the hood, creases the coat to heck, but makes a parka A4 engineering folder sized and they get there and home warm and dry.

At the school I work in, the kids don't have lockers and cannot wear coats inside so have to carry them around which is a pain.

A great many do wear coats though but the ones that don't give the reasons above for not wearing one.

To be fair, I wouldn't want to carry a wet coat around on my arm all day or try to put it in my bag where it will set everything else.

Our kids school is massive their sixth form centre is a good walk from the main building - the school is bursting at the seams because more pupils mean more money - they are having to build a covered area for outside eating because there is not enough room for them to eat inside, so they stand outside freezing while they eat their lunch - with no coat! It seems like utter madness to me. It feels like the uniform has become an unhealthy HT obsession.

We want kids to walk to school don't we - good for the kids, the environment, the traffic chaos - they need to be able to wear a coat - my kids would freeze without a coat on - they walk for an hour to and from school every day, we should be making it easy for kids to walk and wearing a coat is part of this.

My DS has never worn a jacket or coat he's always in a hoodie and he can get soaked. My DD wore a jacket or coat when she felt like it. I think that was a lot about their sartorial choices (never had a uniform) but I'm sure the lack of cloakrroms and lockers had something to do with it.

Gosh soggy that is ridiculous.

You're right about some heads being too image conscious.

At my dd school there not allowed to wear coats on school grounds and there are no lockers so they have to carry them around all day. She can’t be bothered with that. She usually takes an umbrella if it’s raining.

Nowhere to leave them, can’t go over blazers, ‘sad’ to wear one.
Mine get dropped at bus stop on my way to work and the bus goes v near school so unless bucketing they are unlikely to get soaked.
DS barely wears a coat unless it’s freezing. He’ll layer up, wear a hat & gloves but he thinks a ‘coat’ is his Adidas ‘jacket’.

My dd wore coats that packed up small into her bag - a north face rainproof jacket and a Uniqlo down jacket

My DD and DS went to different schools in different boroughs (we live near a boundary). DDs grammar school had large lockers big enough for their books and coats so she wore a coat when needed. DSs comprehensive school says coats must be removed on arrival at school (ie walking through the gates), they have no lockers or pegs and aren’t allowed to carry coats around the school. Even in the snow my son just wore his blazer with a hat, scarf and gloves which he could put in his bag. He had to remove the hat before he got close to school though as hoods and hats weren’t meant to be worn when in uniform.

When I was at school we had lockers AND cloakrooms for coats etc...

Apologies - apparently the school have lightened up - although not sure where that line is coming from. Ds said the teachers quite literally can't be arsed going on at students for wearing coats indoors, so they don't bother.

We literally weren’t allowed coats, snow boots etc, because it wasn’t part of the uniform. Neither were we allowed to take our blazers off in summer, or go barelegged. Grey tights only, all year round (not even tan or barely black).

Our headmaster was a power-crazed twat, basically.

In dds school their coats have to go in their lockers when they arrive at school in the morning and stay there until home time. If their last lesson of the day is miles away from where their locker is they don't want to have to go back for their coat because they'll miss their bus etc.

I won't even go into the problem of a soaking wet coat balled up in a locker all day, or the problem of the pouring rain when moving buildings between lessons

When I was at school we didn't have lockers. We put our coats on the back of our chairs during lessons and put them back on to move between lessons. I can't really see why there would be an issue with that!

When I was at school we didn't have lockers. We put our coats on the back of our chairs during lessons and put them back on to move between lessons. I can't really see why there would be an issue with that!

You can't do that in science labs or cookery classrooms where you're sat on stools rather than chairs with backs. But nor can you put a coat on hooks or in lockers in schools with neither. I can't quite understand why schools don't make provision and then to make matters worse, impose silly rules! I think lack of lockers is a terrible oversight - poor kids having to carry a rucksack full of books, plus a coat, plus maybe a musical instrument and then a games/PE kit on 2 days of the week. Bonkers.

I think lack of lockers is a terrible oversight - and when they have lockers they are so small that they basically hold a school bag on a good day. It's cost cutting and paying schools per pupil, means the schools squeeze in every last inch of space compromising the kid's needs but what is the choice? The Gov ask schools to to make efficiency savings, they take on more pupil's - (the only income generator) in a space that is too small, every year the y add 30 more students so they can balance the budget to cope with the austerity savings the Gov keep asking for and the people keep voting them in and somehow not connecting the deteriorating conditions our kids are being taught in with the Government in charge.

Ours do. And hats even. It’s not universally true

God. This is the most boring thread Ever isn’t it.

The Gov ask schools to to make efficiency savings, they take on more pupil's - (the only income generator) in a space that is too small, every year the y add 30 more students so they can balance the budget to cope with the austerity savings the Gov keep asking for and the people keep voting them in and somehow not connecting the deteriorating conditions our kids are being taught in with the Government in charge.

Did schools all have lockers when Blair/Labour were spending millions and building new schools? Not around here they didn't so your anti-tory rant is irrelevant.

My kids school do not have lockers because they believe it is a H&E risk to have 1300 pupils congregating in the same area at the same time, theft issues, fights, contraband, searches of lockers etc

H&S!

Ds1s first secondary, coats were not allowed. It was in uniform rules.
Ds2s first secondary they were if you could put them in your bag. Werent allowed to have them out in classrooms or wear in school.

Stupid rules around coats tbh

Mine very rarely wore coats. A coat over a blazer is bulky, hot and uncomfortable.
I still rarely wear a coat, if I’m working away from home. I’m either in the car, on a train or in the office. Why would I carry a coat just to leave it on a train or in the office.

13 year old daughter is exactly the same 🙄