Archaic school uniform rules

[Nannyof2boys]

Hi all what are your thoughts on school uniform in secondary school as in blazer button up shirt tie jumper etc?
Why not just have plain black trousers with polo top of the school and maybe an outer jacket with school logo? Surely in today's climate its cruel expecting kids to wear all that and not just the weather the cost?

Same here. Both of mine found their Blazers really useful. Lots of pockets. Could withstand very rough treatment and lasted years with everyday wear. Each only had 2 during their school career.

I didn't say I disagree with uniform I said drop the formality. Polo tops trousers/shorts or skirts and maybe a school brand outer jacket for winter.

Our kids are lined up every morning to inspect their uniform, they have to pull up their sleeves, pull back their hair and turn around twice. They're also not allowed to remove the jumper at any point in school so on a 35c day they're in a shirt, tie and thick jumper. They're also not allowed to wear coats on school grounds which is another ridiculous issue.

DDs blazers were horrible. They wore badly. Weren’t warm in the winter and boiling in the summer.
When I was at school it was shirts, ties for the boys and girls only if they wanted, jumpers when you were cold. We could also wear any coat we wanted. I see pictures of us (80s) and we looked smart enough. Certainly a lot more comfortable.

Agree with you OP. Ties, blazers and formal shirts are completely unnecessary. It’s also ridiculous that they are not allowed to wear shorts when it’s hot and that they get sanctioned if their shirt comes accidentally untucked.

My child is at a secondary school where they wear branded joggers (or branded leggings), branded and pretty smart looking T-shirt and hoodie - all black. They look uniform (excuse the pun!) and smart. None of the kids complain, no one gets penalised for lack of uniform because the uniform is so easy to wear and really practical. It suits what they are doing all day and I really don’t understand why other schools don’t adopt the same. It takes one major angst completely out of the equation and allows the kids to be comfy and ready to learn. It really does work!

Are you serious?

School uniform has everything to do with corporate branding and nothing to do with discipline, a good education or practicality.

My DCs are early 20s so left school a while back but I do remember them complaining bitterly about not being allowed to take their blazers off in hot weather.

In many countries with fantastic education
systems (eg Switzerland) there is no uniform so it is clearly not necessary.

in China, the children do wear uniform. I was in Beijing one September and the secondary school children there were wearing polo shirts, tracksuits and trainers. I wonder if they wear shorts and polo shirts in summer? Much more practical.

Yeah, it's not ideal, especially the hot weather thing but It's a good school and on our doorstep so we put up with a few things rather than sending them to the neighbouring schools that have a lot of trouble.

Why are you speaking about a child in such a way?

I agree with this.
Friend of mine had to buy a blazer and a skirt recently. Blazer was £95 and the skirt was £44

And there are sanctions around the length. Except their daughter is very tall and even the longest skirt comes up short on her. But 'rules are rules' and so she's been put in detention because her skirt is too short.

It makes no sense.

I like the blazers. They look smart, they last forever, are very cheap second hand and make the children feel proud and grown up to be starting secondary.

Parents make an issue of it because its expensive and a waste of money kids grow out of things quickly. Then they take blazer etc off & someone else picks it up unintentionally of course and so on. Why make a kid wear all that uniform only for them to dress however they want as soon as they go to college and uni?

I think it's very outdated. Dd went into year 7 wearing her 1980s business attire...

I think there is a pattern appearing in that the supposedly better schools enforce the strictest uniform knowing that parents want their kids to go to these schools. Parents shouldn't put up with what is effectively bullying should they. My grandson is set to go to one of the better high schools in Cardiff because he lives close by but my daughter has to have that uniform grant as on low income. The hoity toity among us think everyone can afford the school uniforms and their kid looks smart etc. Well when their kid goes to uni and looks like they got dragged through a hedge backwards or they are going to a beach party I'm ibiza instead of a lecture maybe they'll see that 5yrs of pointless uniform was a waste of time

Mine like(d) the blazer too, for the pockets - when in hot weather they were optional, lots still wore them, including my DC.

Personally, my preference is no uniform at all, and just a dress code, but I recognise how deeply culturally embedded they are.

I find white shirts cheaper than polos in the long run, as they wash so much better. I’ve had the same ones go through more than one child over multiple years, and they’re still good as new. Whereas polos get a bit raggy looking.

I don’t like ties, but as a pp said, they a relatively cheap “branded” item. Ours were £3 from the school office and last all the way through school.

But if it were up to me, it would be a choice of branded item - which frankly could just be a badge - and other clothes to a simple dress code.

One of our local schools decided to get rid of blazers and the girls campaigned for them to remain as an option as none of the girls trousers or skirts had pockets. Blazers are have a magnificent number of pockets & look neat. I have a load of jackets for same reason.

They do need to able to remove them in very hot weather and have the option to put a coat over or a jumper under them in cold weather - though DD2 preferred to freeze than wear anything as uncool as a jumper!

Having a set uniform also removes the time wasting what shall I wear in the morning which I know would have caused massive rows & missed buses with my daughters as teens.

Yes, it's a bit like saying that rocketing fuel prices are only an issue because people have been complaining about them!

It's not even always accidental, though, when kids walk home with somebody else's blazer/jumper or whatever. Our DS lost a couple of jumpers, which had his own nametags in them, and we never got them back.

This was at secondary school - not just little kids getting mixed up; but even with little ones, you'd still expect their parents to discover it within a week or so and send it back to school, to return to the actual owner.

I think, when it comes to garments that frequently get removed during the day, there must be some parents out there who actively tell their kids to 'find' (steal) one from school, rather than buying one (whether they don't want to or simply can't afford to)... but who knows, they may well also make deliberate plans around stealing trousers, skirts or shirts when they're changed out of for PE.

Well when their kid goes to uni and looks like they got dragged through a hedge backwards or they are going to a beach party I'm ibiza instead of a lecture maybe they'll see that 5yrs of pointless uniform was a waste of time

Even after uni, when they enter the world of work, many workplaces now have very liberal dress codes, as long as you don't seriously take advantage; and a lot will end up working from home anyway unless AI has already taken their jobs completely.

Workplaces that have uniform will issue you with that uniform, without any drama, so you don't have to source or pay for it yourself. You don't get a job at McDonald's and get given a list of specific items to go and buy from the 'McDonald's uniform shop' in town. Yes, you have to launder them; but tax allowances will take account of this, so you shouldn't be any worse off for it.

What is with the argument for blazers because of the pockets? Ridiculous
And I didn't say to get rid of uniform I said to simplify it & make it cheaper.

Imagine you a teen girl, in a lesson, feel your period starting. You ask to go to the toilet. Do you then want to root aroubd in your bag for your oads/tampons in front of snickering boys... or just leave quietly, safe in the knowledge your emergency stash is in your pocket?

Don't get me started on missing items! Both my daughters & now my grandson have lost or misplaced or someone has taken their clothes! That's why the uniform should be cheap & nothing should be removed except jumpers if worn then kids should learn to put in their bag. Do pe on last lesson so kids wear their pe uniform that day then go home to shower. Pe uniform should be generic black joggers or shorts and a plain t-shirt of schools choice but no badge no expense.

I’ve seen this too, as well as branded joggers or hoody for PE or just shorts and a t-shirt all year round. It’s really cruel.

My DC had to wear a blazer, but they weren’t expensive, and they looked smart. As for those saying branded items discriminate against poorer children, is there no second hand uniform at your DC’s school? The headmaster at my children’s school made it very clear at the meeting for new parents that if a parent had any problem over the cost of uniform, then come and have a quiet word and it would be provided. I never saw a child at the school not in the correct uniform - only the blazers and jumpers had the school logo, and all wore ties. My sister’s DGC have a lovely uniform where the girls wear kilts - it’s a state school - and she assures me they’re no more expensive than any other school skirt. As for the OP saying children should “do PE last lesson” - can she see how impossible that would be for an entire school? At my DGC’s primary school, they go to school in PE kit on games days, which solves the problem of lost clothes (and also the amount of time it takes for young DC to get changed!)