Why did schools change and wear sweatshirts and cheap blazers?

[Neweternal]

I'm curious when I was at school you had wool blazer (expensive yes in the 1980s they were £50) tie shirt etc. Now I see kids going to school in those hideous cheap polyester ones, are the days of school exchanges gone? Also I've seen sweatshirts and polo shirts in primary and secondary and it doesn't look smart at all and after the first term their sweatshirt and polo shirts are bobbled and discoloured. White cotton shirts can be bleached out in the sun. Surely no one thinks that looks better than a shirt and tie? Also children learning to buttons shirts up, tie you ties, they're life skills. What are the pros of sweatshirts, non wool blazers? Yes more ironing is involved with a clean shirt everyday, but my child takes pride in being smart. Poor kids in the 1960s managed school uniform, so I'm not convinced this is purely a financial argument. Should state schools not be competing with private on uniforms? Wearing polo shirts and sweatshirts to secondary if like an acceptance they're going into the trades and not going to need to tie a tie for work, (nothing wrong with trades I have one) but its about aspirations and dressing raises aspirations too. I know private schools still have the school exchange. What's the thinking behind all this?

This is from a newspaper, apparently it helps results especially in inner city schools.

only will the St John's pupils (or most of them) relish looking smarter, they are also likely to get better exam results, if the experience of other schools is any guide. Particularly in inner-city schools, a tightening up in uniform rules has often been the harbinger of an improvement in performance generally.
At Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, East London, held up as a shining example of how to raise standards in a poor area, a strict discipline policy incorporates a traditional school uniform. Head teacher Sir Michael Wilshaw, who helped design the grey and red blazers, says that the uniform adds to pupils' sense of self-worth.
It has been a similar story at Sydney Russell Comprehensive School in Dagenham, famous locally for its bright green blazers. "I expect pupils to take pride in belonging to their school by wearing correct school uniform and wearing it smartly and properly," says headmaster Roger Leighton. A strictly applied dress code has been accompanied by a quadrupling in exam pass rates. The uniform is not stuffy or old-fashioned. White shirts and ties have recently been replaced by modern polo shirts.
On the other side of London, pupils at Fulham Cross Girls' School in Parsons Green have recently exchanged sweatshirts for black blazers with a pink trim – at their own request. Pupils "walked taller" as a result of the change, according to head teacher Carol Jones, who oversaw the introduction of the new uniform. Again, exam results improved significantly after the change.
Only a fool would generalise about the desirability of school uniforms. To preach individuality and self-expression in the young, then insist that they all dress the same, sends out a mixed message whichever way you look at it. But neither should the advantages of uniform be understated. If nothing else, it offers a buttress against the tyranny of a fashion free-for-all.

No

Uniform enforces rules, it oppressed the children and undermines their individuality - they have to conform and there are plenty of teachers who enjoy the power trip the uniform rules give them

A tie won't make my kids more intelligent - a blazer won't help dyslexic DS suddenly be able to write better - it's nonsense and out dated

A dare a school to be the first to ban all uniform and see if it makes one iota of difference to the results

One of the schools you mentioned as an example uses polo shirts.

OP, you're weird. Do we have a uniform troll now?

I wore a stupid uniform to school. Tartan, red and bottle green. I remember being on the receiving end of sexual harrasment whilst wearing it because men thought it was sexy. Yes, grown men thinking school girls were sexy. Of course the uniform was implemented throughout sixth form with clear variations so the perverts could easily work out ages. Ugh.

My own DD refuses to wear her preschool uniform. I get it out each morning but at 3 she says it's yakky so she we choose something practical together. She has sensory processing disorder.

Uniforms, ties, dress codes they just enforce the class system. It's dehumanising. Kids know who is poor and who isn't. It is up to us as parents to teach our children to respect everyone as an equal and not to hide behind this stupid uniform as a social leveller.

That said, if there must be one, let it be something practical, unisex and non sexualising. Tracksuit and polo would be fine.

Green tulips. I got into a major airline and was earning £25k tax free in the nineties. I got into the civil services at a higher grade (just an exam set by them in those day). Got into a teachers course for teaching in college without any qualifications either, again entry done on exam and interview. I also have ran a successful business paid off my house and frankly too lazy to learn now. I certainly wouldn't want my son to not have the opportunity go to university, but I know it's not the only route to a decent life.

And you think you only got those opportunities because of what you wore?

Good for you - doesn't happen anymore though - you need exam passes

There has been plenty school nearby that went to sweatshirts/no uniform in the noughties that have now moved back. The children look a million times better.

Flamingo Yes.

Oh I've got it now. OP is Samantha Brick. She'll be telling us that you need to be beautiful, well groomed and smart to succeed next.
Us mere mortals who rely on our brain are not quite good enough I assume.

Lol no I am not! Just I like fancy school uniforms and think children look lovely in them.

@strippervicar - your comment about uniforms enforcing the class system because they show who is rich and who is poor. Surely it’s the opposite? Having a uniform makes everyone look the same. Choosing your own clothes highlights all manner of things, including who has money and who doesn’t. I would have found it extremely stressful as a child to have to keep up with the latest trends and fashions. Whether or not you agree on WHAT the uniform should be, surely having a uniform is better for children and parents as it takes away all that stress.

Just I like fancy school uniforms and think children look lovely in them.

Now you're making children sound like dress-up dolls. Ew.

Children don't need to wear a strict uniform for 13 years in order to learn to dress appropriately for work and interview situations. Unless you think British children are uniquely dim. I happen to think otherwise.

Neweternal radical uniform change is what a super head does when brought in for a 3-5 year blitz to "turn around" a failing school.

It's not done because uniform itself has any impact, but because its a very easy way for the new head to signal regime change.

It's done for the same reason dogs pre on lampposts.

Those heads are given thumping great budgets the likes of which the school hasn't seen before and won't again, to bring a school up from special measures to good. They redecorate, buy in new equipment, change school hours (often cutting out as much break time as possible to keep the kids on a very short leash. They have special hiring and firing freedom and usually change 3/4 if the staff.

They do achieve improvement, but it's not because of the uniform, but because of special measures emergency freedom to hire and fire and a big budget.

The new uniform and Draconian enforcement is only chest thumping to say "the silverback has taken over and this is not a democracy".

If there were already a shirt, tie blazer uniform they'd change the colours or make some other posturing change to scent mark the school and children.

I've been one of the teachers brought in by a superhead in Merton. The uniform was the most visible change to the public but the least fundamental to the turn around inside the school. It certainly has no lasting impact on results, that's down to the new staff actually staying and the massive cash injection schools get in those circumstances being used wisely.

Penny I now live in a European country without school uniform. Children learn to pick out suitable clothes the night before. They pretty much universally wear jeans and t shirts and there really isnt any stress about keeping up with fashion or anything, because its just every day reality to put your jeans on and go to school.

Fashion stress happens in uniform schools on MUFTI days because of the novelty and rarity of being free to chose focussing the children excessively on clothing on those days.

It doesn't happen where there's never been a uniform so it's not worth a second thought.

Whoever school uniforms are for it isn't the people wearing them.

The uniforms keep the divide because, firstly you can see the difference in styles between fee paying schools and state.
Secondly because you can still see 'poor' (for want of a better word) in shoes, upkeep of uniform and the secondhand doesn't fit.
Thirdly, yes choosing does highlight money. But surely we need to be training this awful trait of money equals better.

My kids wore hideous polyester blazers in the 1980s.
I on the other hand, in the 60s, wore a green tweed coat and green felt hat in the winter and a wool blazer and boater in the summer.
I know which which uniform was easier to keep clean.

@neweternal - surely, if so many superheads do it as an easy way to signal improvement, it DOES raise standards somewhere along the way, whether it factually raises standards or whether it just raises the PERCEPTION of standards which in turn factually raises standards? I’m not trying to be provocative, I’m genuinely trying to understand why so many people don’t agree that enforcing a uniform is important.

Perception should not be underestimated - because the way external people think of you does raise the way you think about yourself. Like it or not, the way you present yourself DOES say an awful lot, from childhood through to adulthood. I am a fan of uniforms simply because I would have found it extremely stressful as a child to keep up with trends and fashions (I’m talking about senior/secondary school here, not so much in primary). Uniforms take away the stress and make you all look the same, which I think is a good thing for everyone.

Where I live kids with a lot of money are just as likely as kids with parents on benefits to wear Aldi jeans to school... People with money are often reluctant to spend it on labels... You can't tell from what a teen wears to school whether you're going to drive up to a run down small flat or a sprawling detached house when you pick your DC up from a party at their house for the first time.

Oh and personally I’d do away with uniform. 25 years teaching secondary and to me it makes no difference apart from focusing discourse between staff and students on minor uniform infringements rather than having proper conversations.

blueskiesandforest

You are spot on

If you look at British children outside school they developed their own uniform - jeans and trainers tshirt and hoody

In fact the 'poorer' children are often indistinguishable from the rich children outside school

Penny it's a signifier of regime change. The uniform itself is just like ringing a bell or shooting over the heads of the crowd. It's impact doesn't last, it's the act of change that is important. If there were a super smart blue uniform in a failing school it would be uncompromisingly changed for a green one. There's nothing intrinsically better about green, it just has to be very clearly and uncompromisingly changed.

Wool blazers are awful. I wore one for secondary and they are pretty much never appropriate for the weather. Always either too warm or not warm enough and useless in the rain.
Our primary has sweatshirts, fleeces and waterproof coats as uniform options. Shirts and ties are optional and generally only worn for concerts and photos. Our school is all about respect but not from conformity.

I see and interesting contradiction in Cupoftea’s post.

She said both that is was important to learn that good presentation is important (which I agree with) and that uniform is good because children don’t have to think about what they wear.

So if they aren’t ever thinking about what they wear how is uniform teaching them how to present themselves?

My D.C. don’t wear uniform now that we live in the US. They don’t spend time agonising over fashion choices but they do make decisions based on activity, weather and presentation.

For example on picture day the children (entirely independently of me) had a discussion together about what to wear to look their best and what would photograph well.

I strongly believe that good presentation is important I just think that the idea you have to wear a uniform every day to learn that is ridiculous.