To hate school uniforms nowadays?

[Whatisthisfuckery]

I’ve just been to get DS’s new school uniform. DS is going into y8, and for reasons beyond my control this will be his third secondary school, so it’s the third uniform Ive had to buy. That’s threee lots of over £100, and that’s just the branded stuff, not the trousers and shirts and shoes.

This is mad. I’m on a low income and struggle, even though I’ve only got one child. If I had more I’d have to save for most of the year to afford it. The fact that I’ve had to buy three lots in 12 months has crippled me financially.

I know schools like to have a corporate image nowadays, but the amount of branded clothing they expect people to buy is ridiculous. £32 for a blazer, and when DS grows into the next size it’ll be £36, and same with the other stuff, when he grows a bit that’ll all cost more as well.

While I’m on a rant, I really hate the horrible clip-on and velcro ties. I assumed it was a safety thing, you know, so kids can’t strangle each other, but the guy in the shop seemed to think it was so kids didn’t have thin ties or little short fat ties etc. I know it must be annoying for a school if the students are doing crazy things with their ties, but on the other hand it feels as if kids aren’t allowed any modes of self expression. Also, shouldn’t they actually learn to tie a tie?

AIBU to hate the amount that school uniforms cost nowadays, and AIBU to lament the loss of the little bit of self expression we had when we were kids?

I remember the little thin ties being s trendy thing back in the day. However will the cool kids express cool now?

I wish they had stuck with polos and jumpers. I don’t even really know any adults who full time wears suits for work either so that excuse is out the window.

My youngest is the third to go through secondary school here and I agree it’s awful.
I think a code of dress would be much better. No logo jeans/trousers and hoodies/jumpers/sweatshirts.
No logo to include no Nike ticks or other designer logos so you haven’t got the showing off of having a £500 hoodie over a £10 one.
That means clothing options are so much easier. Most teens have jeans/trousers and tops that they could wear and then could be worn outside of school as well.

Schools all over the world manage without uniform so I don’t know why the English are so keen to hold onto them.

Yanbu.

My uniform for work is provided by the company. If schools want to dictate an unreasonable uniform they should pay for it.

I'm also convinced that kids learn better when they're comfortable. No need for blazers and ties. If they were that essential to learning, the top unis would insist on them.

Have you checked if you qualify help from your council with uniform costs?

www.gov.uk/help-school-clothing-costs

The ties are becoming clip on due to the peanutting epidemic - always happened when I was at school but nowadays we have parental complaints. I would like a pound for every tie I have had to undo after it being yanked tight.

DS’s secondary school uniform is unbranded; even though we tend to get his from M&S, we could easily get it from Asda/Tesco etc, so I can’t complain. His cousin is in an independent school and his uniform bill is astronomical!

Another one who agrees.
Simply specifying the colour of items that can be bought easily at supermarkets etc can create a uniform that's just as smart. No need for logo-ed everything, high tech sports kit and kilts...they have no effect on learning at all. I also agree re comfort, practical comfortable uniforms would be lots better...

Complain to the school. They are setting the uniform.

Like others have said, any work place I or DH have been to that insists on uniform provides it for us!

They could have sp

I once taught in a school that was non-uniform and first names and it was so liberating. Unlike a non-uniform day, there was nothing to prove and no culture of designer wear. Kids mainly wore what they were comfortable in. It was a godsend on a heat wave in 32oC classrooms being able to wear things like shorts or light, loose clothing. Much better than whinging about uncomfortable blazers and ties.

The DC's primary school has a set colour scheme and basically any generic uniform conforming to that will do. The kids look sufficiently co-ordinated for a school identity with enough personality too.

Starchy inifirms tend to inhibit learning by creating time wasting arguements and clamp downs and just being distractingly uncomfortable.

I'm sorry you've had to buy uniform three times. That's a pain, and while not your fault, it's not the school's fault either that your bill has tripled. Good idea to find out if you qualify for financial assistance as another poster suggested.

If clip on ties are safer and less hassle without peanutting etc, what's the problem? Why do they need to 'express themselves' by wearing their tie in a stupid way? And learning to tie a tie takes about 5 minutes. I imagine there's a youtube video for it too if someone is in desperate need post school.

I like the idea of a uniform. Far easier for parents in the morning not having to police on a daily basis whether clothes are school appropriate, and far less chance of bullying due to someone not having the right brand of t shirt or jeans or whatever.

While it would be nice if schools provided uniform, they're massively underfunded anyway and to be honest, free uniforms for every student is not what I consider a good use of limited funds.

Horrible things. Should all be burnt in a massive bonfire. Not sure if they would burn or just melt as the fabric is usually horrible shiny stuff.

Given my children's blazers alone cost £85, wool so can't be machine washed and smell like a wet dog in the rain, I would love to not have a uniform to spend on. I suspect I would be spending much more if they wore their own clothes though due to wear and tear etc. In the winter months the children tend to come home and throw on old tracckies or even pj's for homework so no real expense there.

If you didn’t have to spend money on uniform, your child would still need clothes for school. Not many would be happy with Primark or H&M so you’d definitely be spending a lot more on the ‘right’ brands, the ‘right’ names and the ‘right’ styles which would undoubtedly be the ‘wrong’ name by the end of the year or even term.

I’m not eligible for help unfortunately.

When I was at school they were quite strict on uniform, but the only school specific item we had to buy was a tie, the rest was black trousers/skirt, white shirt and black jumper. You could probably deck your kid out in that for less than £40 in Asda.

I can understand the thinking around schools wanting a uniform, but they expect the kids to look virtually identical. DS’s new school even insist on branded rucksacks. Personally I’d think that would be a bloody nightmare trying to find your bag in 30 identical ones.

Honestly, I’m surprised they don’t insist on identical haircuts on the first day of term. I’d better not give them ideas.

Love school uniforms. Easy. All the same. We have good blazers and good ties. I only buy 1 blazer per year.

If OP has bought 3 in a year, with respect thats her choice!

Not all schools are like this.

I've just kitted out my lot for going back to senior school, one with all new as he is moving up from primary. A new blazer was £32. A tie was a fiver.

That's literally all that's available "branded". Everything else is generic - black trousers, white shirt, black socks, black jumper. You simply can't buy jumpers with the school badge on, they don't exist. PE kit is just shorts and t-shirt with no slogans on.

Every Scottish school in the state sector I've come across is the same, they just don;t do the crazy expensive branded stuff, or say that the kids have to have any jumper in an ultra-specific shade of orange, only available in the school shop for £30. Most schools are navy/grey/black with white/blue shirts and mixed with green/maroon/navy/red/blue jumpers. All of which you can get from any supermarket clothing department.

I don't know, I remember when I was at school (left 20 years ago) the tie was £9, the jumper almost £30 . We didn't have blazers. We did however have bottle green skirts (trousers not allowed) which could only be bought in a uniform shop almost 20 miles away (pre online shopping), at the time, bottle green wasn't in fashion for 'work wear' so we couldn't even go to next or debentures to get one. They we expensive and hideously expensive.

So I don't thin uniform being expensive is a new thing.

Our school has normal ties and it's the fashion to have them short and wide.

I think a lot of secondary uniform is ridiculous. If I was at my kids school I'd be jealous of those in polos and Vans as their uniform is shirt/blazer/tie and leather shoes.

Whatisthis yeah no identical haircuts yet but I am waiting for schools to announce they have to wear face masks but only ones in school colours and with the logo on. It really wouldn't surprise me from some of the schools I know....

Oblomov It has not been my choice to buy three uniforms. Did you not read the OP? Or do you think I just shouldn’t have bothered buying them? What might have happened if I had chosen not to buy them do you think?

The only time I've had to wear a uniform in my life was at school.
The only advantage to it that I can see is to make it easier and cheaper for parents to dress their kids for school. Once you take that away it's utterly pointless. There is no need for DC to have a 'corporate' look from the age of 4 to 18. It's ridiculous.

It’s a piss take and I can’t stand it.

The money they give you if in low income is a one off that you get just before starting y7 and only covers half of what you need. I was lucky enough to come into a little bit of money so it wasn’t a huge strain at the time then to add Insult he only wore it for 6 months and now his trousers don’t fit him, the type he now needs are the tailored ones as “age 13” isn’t cutting it so no more £8 trousers from Asda it’s now £17 from the school shop, his school bag broke twice in 6 months and they didn’t want to replace it at first and tried to blame my DS for mistreating the bag Nothing to do with the fact that they expect them to carry their bags with all their books for the day around the school as they refuse to instal lockers. I then warned the school that If it broke again I would buy him a non school logo one that I deem suitable and of a decent quality as their one isn’t.

Thankfully due to the shite quality of their jumpers that slowly started to stretch it’s actually saved me the cost of getting new ones and he appears to be able to get another year out of his blazer but I know this will be the last year then I Will have to get him a new one for Y9 so that’s £65 minimum already earmarked for this time next year.

I really wouldn’t mind if the quality of the uniform was good and could warrant £14 for a PE polo but it they seem to be worse than Asda or Tesco.

YANBU

I know people on low income get help, but it's now just another thing for them to feel bad about not being able to afford. It's still expensive whatever salary you are on and my son's uniform provider is shit - it looks crap after a few washes.

And what's with the blazers? When do any adults really wear them in real life? I work in an office normally and nobody wears them. They looks so uncomfortable.

I guess they could all wear grey t-shirts and joggers, which would be more comfortable, but it probably looks a bit prison-like.