Should girls be allowed to wear trousers for school uniform? Do yours?

[Legacy]

Prompted by the 'school council' thread - just wanted to get some feedback & thoughts here.

The girls at our infant school have requested to be able to wear smart school trousers as part of uninform, and the parents have been asked their opinion.

I don't see why not, so long as they're proper 'uniform' ones?

Anyone feel strongly opposed to the trousers for girls thing. If so, why? What haven't I considered.

I wear trousers nearly all the time myself, so it would be a bit hypocritical for me to say no!

[buffythenappyslayer]

my dd started secondary school last september.the list of uniform we got was skirt or trousers.its far too cold for them to be in skirts.even with tights.my other dds school specify skirts.i put her in trousers.(found out that becaue its only a primary and junior school,uniform isnt compulsory)so i make her wear trousers when its cold and when its warm she has a choice.

[Mercy]

Exactly wordgirl. Can you imagine how this thread would go if we were questioning trousers for women at work?

[spacecadet]

our primary school is quite lax on uniform sadly, so alot of children dont wear uniform, hence the girls wear what they want on their bottom half.
dd and ds's secondary school is very strict, skirts only for the girls.

[paolosgirl]

Completely agree, Mercy.

[DumbledoresGirl]

I prefer the look of skirts, but dd, having scarcely ever worn trousers for the first 6 years of her life (her choice) recently wanted some school trousers and now gets upset if her one pair is not available to wear to school. I think that is mainly because she finds putting on tights or long socks a bind.

TBH, I virtually never wear a skirt so I can understand.

[robinpud]

Can't believe this is actually a topic for debate.
Yes on grounds of practicality
yes on grounds of gender discrimination
yes on grounds of choice.
totally agree with Blu's post 1.54.
all those enjoying dressing their dd in frilly ankle socks and sweet skirts or tunics, just wait and it will change. Mine only wants trousers and as I spend most of my time in trousers I wouldn't dream of making it an issue.
Girls from the fee paying High School nearby shorten their skirts until they are just long waistbands. That might be worth having a discussion about but not trousers.
btw my daughter still looks very smart, not that really matters either.

[paolosgirl]

Trousers can be just as smart as skirts. They are also far more practical in the cold weather, and when they are running (and falling over) as children should do. I wonder if it's a state v. private thing in many cases?

[wordgirl]

not for children though

[robinpud]

I think the what's on the inside is really the most important thing and try not to judge a book by it immediate cover. I think the workplace is different from school and that at school children should be ready to learn but not too worried about their outward appearance. They may not be smart because they are a 7 year old caring for a single parent with a disability and very little in the way of external support for instance . In such cases, of which there are far too many I am just grateful the child has got to school. Just my opinion tho'

[paolosgirl]

You mean it might be the parents, Wordgirl?! [wide eyed with innocence emoticon]

[motherinferior]

You'd HATE DD1's school . Jeans a gogo.

[motherinferior]

Er, yes. They're small children. They look lovely.

[WideWebWitch]

Why ever wouldn't they be 'allowed' to? Are thee really schools where it isn't allowed? Well, clearly there are or you wouldn't be posting but I'm most surprised.

[LIZS]

Not strongly opposed but would expect a specific definition of style/colour and still personally not keen on the look. To my mind there is more of a fashion element to trousers ie bootleg, straight cut,leggings etc than to a skirt of pinafore. They also get more obviously outgrown whereas a skirt has a few inches of tolerance. I can see some benefit for infants where they are playing a lot and may find it harder to stay warm in winter. dd wears a fleece tracksuit on swimming days but generally would consider tights and skirt warm enough.

Our school also has a strict uniform and it has seasonal variations ie summer only from the beginning of next term and optional up to autumn half term.

[elliott]

I haven't read the thread, sorry, but I am amazed and somewhat depressed that this question is even being asked in the 21st century....why oh why do we have to keep fighting the same old battles?

[figroll]

Better than those belts that they claim are skirts - a school down our road has girls coming out with skirts shorter than their blazers! Now that is short - ridiculous really.

It is nice when littlies can wear trousers as it means they don't have all those woolly tights to contend with - such a pain and so much more washing. It keeps them warm too.

My dds school had a vote to see what the parents thought and some of the people who voted not to trousers were the parents of the boys!! Talk about double standards.

[expatinscotland]

I HATE tights, so I think they should be able to wear trousers. I mean, ffs, have you ever worn a skirt/tights and no longer coat over that on a cold day? It's freezing!

Also, having to buy all those tights is an added expense.

[edam]

I thought there was some case law on this - wasn't there a battle some years ago? And wasn't it established that banning trousers is sexism (in a mixed school, I believe).

I had to wear a kilt at high school and it was hideous and impractical - whenever it was windy (all the time where we lived) the skirt would fly up and eventually the kilt pin wore a big whole in the material. Very embarrassing having your skirt blown up around your waist...

[serenity]

The girls can wear either at our school.

Having seen the state of DS1 and 2's knees and trousers after having fallen over on the tarmac, DD will be wearing trousers to school for as long as I can persuede her to wear them! (Nursery and Reception uniform is jogging bottoms anyway)

[Blandmum]

Do you really want an explanation???

If you do I can elaborate