To think if you don't agree with the rules, don't send the kids there?

[GhostlySinCity]

I'm talking about parents who decide on a secondary school for their kids...knowing the uniform etc and THEN decide that they don't want to follow the rules?

It makes me want to scream.

Our school uniform is:

Black trousers (which can be bought from asda/matalan etc for under £10)
A white shirt (Packs of 3 can be bought from asda/tesco for under £10)
A school tie (£4)
Black Shoes (£20?)
School blazer (ok, rather pricey at £35)

They KNOW the uniform before they send their kids there yet as soon as their kids are confirmed a place they start with:

"Oh, well I can't afford that blazer, he'll be going in a normal blue jumper"

"He won't wear trousers, it will have to be black tracky bottoms"

"Schools shoes? he can just wear his trainers can't he?"

"He doesn't know how to fasten a tie, surely it won't matter if we don't get one?"

ARGH!! stupid, stupid bloody people. IT MAKES ME SO CROSS.

[gallusbesom]

I am so glad I live in Scotland and don't have the stress of choosing the best school, etc. After reading some threads on here I am glad we have a catchment area scheme!

[spokette]

I don't understand how anyone can say they can't afford school uniform when they buy their children clothes anyway. Schools also have second hand sales.

[needmorecoffee]

Our schools have a standard blazer you can get anywhere and sew on the school badge (or if you are me, superglue it on)

[forevercleaning]

what difference does it make what other children are wearing? If you wish yours to be in the correct uniform thats fine. What other people send their children to school in should be no concern of yours

YABU !!!

[AbbeyA]

YANBU. What gets me is someone saying they can't afford the very cheap school sweatshirt with logo, but sends their DC into school with a designer top that I happen to know costs £50!! They could have got the school top, one for home and still had change!

[AbbeyA]

The clothes other DCs go to school in makes a huge difference and it is every concern of other parents. It can make it look like a sink school! Where I lived before I never bothered looking around the local secondary-seeing them come out of school was a complete put off.(I know from other people that this was a correct assumption). You can call me snobbish-I don't care! A lot of people feel the same. Pride in appearance = pride in the school.

[spokette]

Forevercleaning, it makes a difference because it is about maintaining a certain standard. If I was an employer and had a uniform policy, I would expect my staff to adhere to it. Too many young people seem to thing that rules do not apply to them and I'm afraid it starts with the message they receive from their parents.

[forevercleaning]

Yes but if they are not your children what difference would it make to you? That's what I mean.

Mine do wear the correct uniform, but I have never even had a moments thought to what others are wearing.

[AbbeyA]

It makes a difference if new parents shun the school because they don't like the impression given by the pupils.

[cory]

Around here it's the sink schools that have the full blazer & tie approach. The schools with a good track record don't seem to feel the same need.

Dd's school uniform is a smart sweater with the usual blouse&trousers; looks good but is a lot cheaper than the blazer. Never heard of any parents shunning the school because of this: there were nearly 50 appeals last year to get into this school (and consequently away from the smartly blazered schools). Most parents aren't so dim as to judge a school by uniform alone: they want to look at results, students' behaviour when out and about etc etc. Bad behaviour doesn't look any more attractive when wrapped in a smart uniform.

(my children do wear their uniform btw)

[Spidermama]

YABU.

Uniforms are a gross infringement of our civil rights and I'm all for taking a stand.
I can't stand this staid, fit-in-or-fuck-off attitude which tries to insist we all emulate each other.

We aren't all sheep.

Mavericks don't try to be difficult they just want to be themselves and be allowed to be themselves. They have a vital role to play in society.

If you want everyone to be exactly the same and do what they're told without question, go to Germany.

[AbbeyA]

I am not judging it by the uniform-but by the way they wear the uniform, or ignore the uniform. Pelmet skirts, huge hoop earrings, ties worn like mayor's chains don't give a good impression!

[AbbeyA]

If you don't like uniform Spidermama don't choose a school that has one!!

[forevercleaning]

to whom abbey?

[forevercleaning]

I didnt realise that parents chose a school because of a uniform?

Results would be way up the list for me.

[juuule]

How can you choose a school that doesn't have a uniform if all the schools in your area have one?

[AbbeyA]

To me forevercleaning. Good results tend to go with DCs who have a pride in their school and look as if they want to work. Surely you don't want the girls looking like sex workers?
If they all have uniform you have to settle for one with uniform. You could try and change it through the proper channels but I don't think that you would get very far as the majority of parents like it. If you feel very strongly about it you would have to HE.

[sunnygirl1412]

It might be worth their asking at the school. My eldest went to a selective school with a very expensive uniform - around £300 once we'd bought PE kit, tech apron, lab coat, language dictionaries etc etc as well as the blazer, tie, rugger socks etc. We blanched at the cost but knew it was coming some months in advance, so were able to budget for it - but I did mention the high cost at the school and was told, on the quiet, that they kept a second-hand uniform shop which was made available to parents on low incomes.

My older two now go to a secondary school that doesn't insist on a blazer, but allows a V neck sweater or a zipped up fleece, as long as you can see the tie. I have to say it is soooo much more practical than a blazer - it's far easier to wash and much cheaper to replace if necessary - and to be honest, the discipline there seems as good or nearly as good as at the selective schools.

I've also got to say that when I was buying uniform for them, it was far easier to find cheap black uniform trousers than it was to find cheap black tracksuit bottoms.

I'm ambivalent on the shoes/trainers issue. The boys' school allows plain black trainers, which seems a fair compromise to me - less resistance from the kids, and a reasonably smart, uniform appearance.

[AbbeyA]

I am not keen on blazers and think if they have them they should be washable (as at my DS's school)with a sew on badge. I believe in things that you can get at any High Street shop that are hard wearing, practical, washable and cheap. Girls are often better in trousers if skirt lengths are an issue.

[juuule]

Not everyone is in a position to HE, Abbeya.

I personally think uniform can be a good thing. But I prefer one that has a degree of flexibility.

Unless the school is actually providing the uniform for free, I don't see why they should be able to dictate that expensive items should be part of the uniform.

I think Sunnygirl's school seems to have a more sensible approach.

[AbbeyA]

Whether they should or they shouldn't, they do, juuule. I don't see why it is such a big issue-I certainly wouldn't HE over it, even if I was in a position to do so.
If there is no choice except uniform and you can't HE, you just wear the uniform and support the school. Save your battles for something important.

The new Head at my DS's school has tightened up on uniform and most parents are pleased and very supportive.

My DS has a non uniform day on Friday. The non uniform will be like a uniform, I will have trouble distinguishing him from any other male pupil! The girls will nearly all wear trousers.

[nooka]

My children go to a school with no uniform. Uniforms seem unusual in the US, and are reserved for private schools. The children at the school have a lot of pride in it (we went to their monthly assembly last week and they all sang the school song with great enthusiasm). It is an extremely good school, but much less formal than the UK equivalent. We are just about to move to Canada, again they won't be wearing uniforms. Canada has some of the best school results in the world. I do understand the conformity concept, but it is all about control isn't it? As parents we are told to pick our fights. It seems to me that in enforcing strict uniforms many schools are deliberately picking fights.

[Hulababy]

YANBU

[expatinscotland]

YANBU