Has your High School updated its branded uniform rules yet as per the new Government policy applicable from Sept26?

[Flamingoqueenofchaos]

Has anyone’s High School updated their uniform for September 26 as per the new government policy…..

….From September 2026, schools should not require parents and carers to buy more than 3 items of branded school uniform. Secondary and middle schools may ask for 4 items if a tie is one of them…..

My child starts high school this September and there’s is still 5 branded items listed: tie, skirt, blazer, pe top, pe shorts

I have called the school and no update so far (yes I know there’s still weeks before end of term but what with holidays/work etc I’m trying to actually get organised!!)

DC school is already compliant, and thankfully one that recognises that children are human with different tolerances for heat so they are allowed to take their jumpers off whenever they like.

However, I don't think the guidance goes far enough. It should be two branded items max.

Nothing can convince me that my son's learning in PE is enhanced by him having the school logo on his white polo shirt which costs twice as much as a plain white polo shirt.

Schools should have a supply of kit for teams that are playing matches against other schools.

It’s not in line with the intent of the policy and divides DC if they say ‘branded jumper or no jumper’. Disappointing if the guidance isn’t explicit about that.

I don’t get why they can’t just sell iron on patches.

Yes you’re right
blazers are expensive

Also, when I was at school, it was a grey skirt that you could buy from anywhere, and now all of a sudden the schools round here have opted for these horrible school kilts that are about £25-30 each, only available from the uniform supplier. You obviously need a spare one too and so it soon adds up!!

currently I have one in secondary and the branded are

blazer
skirts for girls but plain trousers for boys
shirts with logo
v-neck jumper with logo
ties
PE top rugby/hockey style zip up
PE t-shirt
branded shorts
branded joggers

So guessing they will have to be reviewing this. It’s very expensive buying it all when you can buy uniform at Asda!

Yes ours has

i went to school in the 90s in a liberal city and our school didn’t have uniform. The ones that did were often simple (green sweater and black trousers)

when I moved to the Home Counties I realised how old fashioned it is in some places (kilts for girls?!?)

But I don’t see the need to all look exactly the same. Looking exactly the same isn’t a life skill, or something they need to prepare for. And they can still look smart with a dress code.

And if there was an issue with children not following the dress code in an inappropriate way, why couldn’t they just enforce the dress code the way they enforce a uniform?

(I hope this post doesn’t sound like I’m being argumentative with you in particular 😅 I’m just wondering about these things aloud)

Hopefully ours stays the same as it currently is (but they've just appointed a new Head and we know new Heads like to make their mark):

Must have blazer (same for the whole academy trust = more available second hand and a couple of local suppliers do them)
Must have tie - differentiates between the secondaries in the trust
The rest we get told "get from wherever's got the best sale on" - jumpers have a logo option if you want them, or knitted style (not hoodie material) from the supermarkets are OK.

They ask for one logoed piece of PE kit - either the short sleeve top or long sleeve one, and no sportswear logos bigger than a credit card on any other items. DD2 managed to lose her PE kit and they're just like "wear something black till you find it again" - plus lots of reasonable adjustments in terms of kids being allowed to wear theirs all day on PE days (for those ADHD kids like DD2 who could lose their head if it wasn't screwed on).

Shoes - anything black and sensible is allowed.

Fairly chill for a secondary school. One of the reasons we chose it was the relationship between the kids and staff, the warmth of the place and the fact that they focus on the stuff that tends to matter rather than trying to make kids have identical logoed knickers.

England is so backwards with basic issues and school. That’s before we even touch the sides of the actual education system. The idea of not being allowed to remove a blazer regardless of weather is fucking batshit. I couldn’t believe it when I first read that on MN. Pen licenses WTF? Attendance awards and punishments. Jesus Christ. Forcing parents to struggle to have a stupid logo on uniforms when supermarket uniforms are adequate. Madness. None of it is necessary to the child’s education.

Unfortunately , it’s not backwards, it’s the way progress is going. It’s new, not traditional.

30 years ago this wasnt happening. The bigger threat is in 30 years time it’s the norm in Scotland etc when they “catch up”
with those ways of thinking that ended England here

I meant mentally backwards, not chronologically.

Yes exactly
back in the day we had school badges you could sew on jumpers and blazers. Makes much more sense and a branded shirt is just insane!

Back in the 90s my Secondary had...
An odd colour blazer (£70!)
A particular style of skirt you could only get in the uniform shop (£30)
Particular colour blouses (£15 each)
PE skirt, PE knickers and PE shorts (ylu needed all of them), with logoed PE tops, and jumpets, and long socks (and normal PE socks)... the boys needed 2 different rugby shirts and a PE vest, and two types of shorts. Indoor and outdoor trainers, plus studded boots.

Eloborate uniforms arent new.

@GingerBeverage @Besidemyselfwithworry my DD school still has sew on (not iron on, you'd melt the blazer!) badges. Only for the blazer, nothing else has a badge.

My two DSs are at the local high school (not UK). Between the two of them they need a minimum of 45 items of school branded uniform. There is also other unbranded stuff they need and other optional branded stuff. The items are expensive, but last so much longer than regular clothes. It ultimately works out cheaper than not wearing a uniform.

Yes of course. There are quite a few that don't. Quite a few London primary schools don't for example. Of state secondaries, I know that Fortismere and the BRIT school (also both in London) have no uniform and I suspect there are quite a few more, especially schools that cater to a more arty/left-wing demographic.

Our experience is the opposite - our branded school uniform (particularly the blazer) is poorly made from awful polyester fabric. It is much poorer quality than the normal clothes we usually buy.

Yes my children’s secondary school is changing to only blazer, tie and PE t-shirt needing to be branded. Girls currently wear a branded skirt that is £25 each and blouses that are £25 for two. The blazer is £40 so quite reasonable.

When they do sport matches how are we going to differentiate the unbranded sides to the match? Isn’t that why they are branded in the first place because the kids prefer to wear one top rather than that colour thing vest over it.

Most of DS’ branded stuff is sports wear. They differentiate rugby vs cricket/athletics white.
Only the blazer is branded for uniform.

No changes, but the only compulsory things are tie (boys only), blazer, PE top. The jumper, hoodie and PE shorts are by choice.

For blazers they should offer to just iron the branded logo on instead.

That’s really good I hope others go the same way
I think all this over priced logo’d clothing is awful and I think the hideous kilts need to absolutely go, they are terrible, expensive and not necessary; furthermore the blazer and tie situation - I’m all for a uniform but even in work places, very few people wear ties and jackets these days that seems a dated idea really. Maybe polo shirts and sweatshirts would be a better option with plain bottom halves.

My issue with school uniform is the microplastics in it leeching into children’s skin for years. I mean come on, how is this good for them.

“Yes of course. There are quite a few that don't. Quite a few London primary schools don't for example. Of state secondaries, I know that Fortismere and the BRIT school (also both in London) have no uniform and I suspect there are quite a few more, especially schools that cater to a more arty/left-wing demographic.”

On the flip side, we get a lot of communication from the police and council about anti social behaviour on buses and in shopping malls at the end of term (in particular) so I doubt the powers to be are that keen on doing in with school uniform entirely. It is a form of social control for teens.

We have identical PE kits for the whole academy trust - they wear bibs for sports matches and manage to play the other schools in the trust just fine that way. With the fact that 99% of schools are navy/black - the sports kits are going to look so similar they need to wear some other identifier for sports matches anyway.

I'd love to see a clampdown on the endless uniform and logo changes as well so the second hand market can recover - in the last 10 years one of our secondaries that has logoed all over the place has changed logo three times meaning old uniform is either obviously "old" or eventually "old logo jumpers can be worn up to x date" and then landfill.

It's one reason I like my kids' school Trust having basically identical uniform with just a different tie - more stuff available second hand for PE kits, blazers and the like.

The rugby kit is much thicker @TorturedParentsDepartment - it would get stained or torn immediately if they wore their summer cricket/pe/athletics wear instead. The hazards of winter sport contact rugby. I think DS wears it for hockey too.