Prep School Uniform

[VerityClinch]

Have had confirmation of DD's place at her private prep school which she will start September 2013. DS will start in the nursery attached at the same time.

Having just about got my head around the fees, I decided to freak myself out by looking at the uniform lists - mainly to see what items were common for both boys and girls, as DS will be two school years behind DD and hopefully there will be things she does not totally ruin which can be handed down.

But - OMG - why do I not understand the lists? There are optional and compulsory items (yep, understand that) and summer and winter uniforms (understand that too), but out of the compulsory items I cannot begin to imagine what they actually go to school wearing. It seems like they could potentially be in a different outfit each day - joggers and polo shirt one day, cords and sweater one day, tunic, blouse and tights one day, dress and cardigan one day... And any mix and match in between...

Is this NORMAL? In my day we just put our uniform on, same thing, every day and if it was hot dug out last year's too-small nylon summer dress.

The website and prospectus is no help either, all the photos of the children are outdoorsy or paint and craft type things and they're all wearing coats or aprons!

I know I've got a year to get my head around this, but is it really normal to have so many potential outfit choices within one uniform? I thought the point of uniform was so that everyone looked the same? What am I missing?

Why not just phone the school and ASK? Why the big deal?

Bluestocking oh, yes, indeed you are vair old!

BF's Sis was there (guessing slightly) 1990 - 1997

So, unless you had to repeat a LOT of years, no overlap!

No, I was a model student, despite being overburdened by too many clothing choices ...

It's not a big deal - a whole year until she starts and plenty of time to figure it all out and do a bit of stalking research - just wondering why it appears so complex on the website (every potential parent's first port of call, surely?) - slightly off putting?

And, my original question was, is this level of choice/options in uniform normal, when I always thought the point of uniform was to make the children look, well, uniform.

toughas we are currently in Tenterden, but househunting in CSCA - where are you?

Sorry - that comment was to Musomathsci

Lol at seasonal jogging bottoms

I have never seen a school uniform list with so many optional extras, if that helps.

Although my daughters school you could choose between a nice navy winter coat or a lovely cloak (navy blue with a red lined hood).

just to add - which you needed in addition to the school blazer and raincoat. Such a lot of clothes for a 4 year old....

So many optionals is a bit unusual. However, given that they are cords, shorts and polo perhaps they once had someone making a fuss about girls-in-trousers-and-sex-discrimination and so these represent the option to dress like the boys?

When I first went away to school we lived in Canada so no one to ask about home counties schools. My poor mother duly provided the prescribed two pairs of brown lace ups for outdoor wear and two further pairs for indoor (!) which, naturally, I outgrew by Christmas.