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Education

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Original poster

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

149 replies

Legacy · 27/03/2006 13:34

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!

OP posts:

Orinoco · 27/03/2006 21:48

Yep, my dd1 wears trousers on PE days! She insists on pinafores the rest of the week though!

stleger · 27/03/2006 21:50

My dds prefer to wear school track suits, but on non track suitdays one is trousers and the other is skirt. She wants trosers next year as her tights fall down. A good reason for trousers! The older one is moving to secondary where trousers are now allowed. Nobody wears skirt, or carries a bag using both shoulders.

Original poster

Legacy · 27/03/2006 22:24

FeistyBird - Nope, not from outside the UK. From the South East, and no, before you ask, it's not a private school - it's a state primary.

For those who said "I can't believe this is a real Q" - it is. However like some of you, I was surprised it was being 'debated' by the school as it seems impossible to defend a 'no' decision.

Like some others though I have a fear that the trousers have the potential to be more scruffy somehow.

OP posts:

Tanzie · 27/03/2006 22:59

Yes, and yes. No uniform here. Well, there is in that most of the children seem to wear Boden.

SleepyJess · 27/03/2006 23:02

Yes of course they should and yes he does.

nooka · 27/03/2006 23:25

So all you trouser haters - do you think that skirt/dress wearing girls look smarter than trouser wearing boys? I must admit it thought was no longer allowed for schools to deny girls the right to wear trousers. Seems daft to me - I wear a skirt once in a blue moon. My dd on the other hand has to be dragged kicking and screaming away from dresses! Generally speaking school uniforms are made out of the same sort of uniform whether they be dresses or trousers (otherwise that really would be sex discrimination), so I really can't understand the reasoning on that one. My children's primary school has a straight legged only rule on trousers, and I don't think that the dress wearing girls stand out as looking smarter than the trouser wearers. Some are scruffy, and some are neat - I think that's more to do with the character of the child, and the relative wealth/cleanliness of the family concerned. Also I have to say, as a victim of horrible school skirts (probably why I never wear them now), there is no monopoly on badly made uniforms.

jampots · 27/03/2006 23:52

i personally prefer skirts for girls and trousers for boys. At my dd's junior school a lot of the girls wore trousers but thankfully hardly any at her secondary school do.

nooka · 28/03/2006 00:08

jampots, do you prefer skirts on women and trousers on men too? I think my daughter looks sweet in a nice dress, but school uniform is school uniform (ie not very nice really!)

threebob · 28/03/2006 00:28

Yes I think it's fine as long as the teachers are allowed to wear them too. And vice versa.

All this talk of childhood obesity - well I don't like running around and being active in a skirt.

On a practical note you will save a fortune in tights.

jampots · 28/03/2006 07:48

no i dont nooka I just think as part of a school uniform it looks smarter. Infant boys at our school have to wear shorts whatever the weather too

philippat · 28/03/2006 08:43

you know, one of the reasons people used to put forward for women not getting the vote was that if they filled their heads with politics, they'd spend less time on their appearance and not look as nice.

serenity · 28/03/2006 09:20

Little boys in shorts in the middle of winter is pretty damn cruel IMO.

If their parents dressed them like that at any other time I'm sure there'd be plenty of accusations of neglect (especially on here ) I hate seeing bare bits of kids in freezing weather.

Senoracod · 28/03/2006 09:22

Jampost you haev lost yer lid

jampots · 28/03/2006 09:37

hey I didnt say I agreed with the shorts !

If girls can wear trousers what happens if a boy wants to wear a skirt - cant imagine it happening but the risk is there -

Bozza · 28/03/2006 09:46

TBH at DS's school I think the boys look smarter than the girls. The boys are wearing a pretty consistent uniform of grey flannel trousers with polo shirts and school sweatshirts. The girls are wearing all sorts of things - trousers in various styles and fabrics, skirts, pinafore dresses in various styles, blouses, polo shirts, sweatshirts, cardigans, summer dresses, various coloured tights etc and it seems a bit of a mish-mash.

Although when DS started reception in September he was the only boy wearing a pair of shorts and it was quite warm at the time.

julienetmum · 28/03/2006 13:40

At dd's school the style of the pinafores (for infants) and skirts (for juniors is specified). Similarly the exact style of trousers for boys is specified. The style of the specified trousers would not appeal at all to the girls so I doubt very much if anyone would challenge the sex discrimination rule.

In seniors it won't be an issue as it is single sex so no-one can say boys are allowed to wera trousers because there are no boys.

Blu · 28/03/2006 13:49

At our pre-meeting before DS started school, we had a specific talk by his teacher on suitable clothing for school, even though it is a non-uniform school. She emphasised that clothing should be comfortable, and scruffy. She said she finds it very upsetting when children are anxious about getting clothing damged or dirty, and thinks it interferes with their enthusiasm to learn!

I agree with her.

And she certainly doesn't need to use uniform or smartness as a way to instill good calm interactive classroom behaviour, even with a wide range of concentration and individual needs amongst the group.

Bozza · 28/03/2006 13:54

Hmmm blu on a similar line DS's teacher was advocating trousers as more practical than dresses for the girls and suggesting blue sweatshirts didn't show glue stains as badly as red ones. I bought DS both because I think he looks lovely in the red ones, but he also has a blue one he wears some days.

Blu · 28/03/2006 13:57

They should bring out a special range of school clothing in 'Glue Blue'.

PeachyClair · 28/03/2006 14:20

Our school is pinafore for girls. I think it is more important to offer a range at senior level- at least partly because it gives any Muslim kids a nice easy option (most muslims are happy to send their girls in school uniform with trousers but a lot don't like skirts).

Trousers are more practical though aren't they? For riding trikes and sandpits and cold weather.

Bozza · 28/03/2006 20:47

blu.

jamsam · 28/03/2006 21:56

my two sisters and i campaihned for years to get trousers in secondary school, we had no end of trouble, from threatened expulsion to bad reports for being 'too mature'. as soon as i left ( im the youngest) the uniform was changed and trousers came in. ive since learnt that they waited for us to leave so we didnt think we won.
they're only trousers!!

jamsam · 28/03/2006 21:56

piccolamamma · 14/05/2006 22:35

i think trousers are fine. trousers were brought in at my old school over 10 years ago.
after all does the uniform have an affect on performance?
all i know is that my dh studied the metabolism of atm molecules at 15 at his italian school where uniforms are not used. it took my english school another 3 years to get around to that - despite my uniform. i've discovered a similar pattern in every subject. dh falls about laughing at my ignorance when it comes to maths, history, latin, economics, geography and literature to name a few - and I have 11 very good g.c.s.e.s........

juuule · 15/05/2006 09:47

Yes they should and yes ours do.

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