Girls not allowed to wear trousers

[mummybear701]

My children are going to a new primary as we are relocating (work reasons). I was aghast the uniform said girls can't wear trousers and have queried this, but the response was yes that is the rule. Daughter is not happy as thinks skirts are too girly, not just cold and impractical. She wears a skirt or dress about 3/4 times a year on average for special events only. Leggings aren't allowed either even under skirts. Who would think this still happens in 2014?

I am going to discuss it again with the HT and would like some advice. Our dilemma is the school by all accounts is very good academically and allowing children to develop, so the uniform may be a small price for the 2 years she will have.

Please don't say primaries cant enforce uniform. They can and will one way or the other.

I actually thought enforcing skirt-wearing was a thing of the past!

In winter, round our way,hardly any girls (primary or senior) wear skirts!

They tend to wear the generic school dresses that you can buy in most clothes shops/large supermarkets , in the summer. (senior girls still wear trousers even in summer)

I'm actually seriously surprised that this is still an issue with some schools.It should be a choice,not enforced!

I'm a TA,and unless it is 25 degrees c outside I always wear trousers to work,as do the majority of the rest of the staff,including the (female) head teacher.

What isn't functional, comfortable, hard wearing and practical about a pair of culottes and sensible shoes?

Cold legs in winter (or back to itchy tights). Not searched (DD is 2 and our school allow trousers anyway) but I've never seen them available in cotton which my kids need. Quite possibly not allowed by uniform policies strict enough to insist on skirts anyway.

And not to mention that most girls wouldn't be seen dead in them. 4-year-olds probably won't have a problem with them, but from Yr3 onwards, children want to be part of the herd. It's like the gingham dresses - in Yr 5 and 6 they are social death. DD2 wears trousers when it's cool and smart city shorts when it's warm.

The schools uniform rule has been in place for many years I am sure. Sometimes you have to conform to the rules, not everyone will like it

Seriously? With that attitude the women's rights movement would have been over in 1 afternoon!

"We want the right to vote".
"But the rules say women can't vote, we should conform to these rules, even if we don't like it".
"Oh of course, you're right, silly idea. More tea anyone"?

My dd1 hasn't worn a skirt since she was 3, she's 11 now. I didn't even check with the school to see if trousers were allowed, I just put them on her anyway. It was never an issue, but if it was I would have loved to have seen them try to get her into a skirt. Her tantrums back then were epic.

I would like to know how the world will implode if girl's do wear trousers to this school? Why does the a girl have to have her underwear on display if she does active play or sits with her legs open? What interest do this school have in a girl's underwear? (I know that sounds wanky). But seriously why do boys get to cover up and not worry about showing off their underpants, yet girls have to constantly curb their activities and the way the sit because they're not allowed wear trousers? Why does having a vagina = wearing clothes that give easy access to it?

(On a completely different note, what wanker was it in history that decided that women must wear skirts all the time?)

DD is in Y4, and doesn't yet want to be part of the herd. - She has her hair cut short when all the other girls have theirs long, despite me "treating her as dressing up doll" and "my utterly dysfunctional attitude".

Gingham dresses seem to be worn by almost all girls, in all years at my DCs school, from the first day of the summer term. I've just met up with a few Y6s and they were all wearing them. Obviously not a social death thing around here.

Anyway, I just can't get as worked up as other people about this.

But Lynette you have said upthread that your DD would love to wear trousers. OK, so you let her cut her hair short when she wants to, but you won't let her wear trousers though that is her preference. Why can she have one but not the other when the only issue is that you don't like school trousers? Where's logic and consistency in that?

Obviously not all schools have the same attitude towards the gingham dresses and fair enough.

I can get worked up about it! I tried to persuade the school to let girls wear trousers back in 1975, and failed, but these days when women wear trousers all the time if they wish to, it is quite wrong not to allow schoolgirls the same freedom.

BabyBearleigh has female friends and when it's snowy, he's warmly dressed, in sensible lace up shoes, but the poor girls have to wear skirts, silly flat soled Mary-Janes and short socks. (Private school...) The girls are freezing, and slide all over the place. I can think of no justification for this distinction.

Pointythings - DD looks awful in school trousers, and I don't think school trousers look good with most girls school shoes (brogues being the exception) - just my opinion.

There are somethings I put my foot down about as a parent, and others I let DD chose, when I agree with her choice. (Personally I think her hair looks fabulous) DD would also love to wear a particular T-shirt every where we go. I don't let her, because I don't like it at all think it's suitable, and yes I care about how she looks.

I have the final say on all my DCs clothes. The 15yo totally doesn't care. The 11yo, who is very much into fashion sometimes complains I won't buy him exactly what he wants, or let him have his ear pierced, but overall states my taste is "cool". DD would love to wear her favorite hideous t-shirt, (which Granny brought back from holiday!) with a black pvc biker jacket I refuse, to buy. Usually we are able to agree on something available in GAP. It''s probably only 5 years until she becomes a goth.

In the winter, if it's cold DD wears Ricosta boots to and from school, and on the playground.

Now compulsory school ties...I could get worked up about ties......

There was a thread yesterday where a lot of posters were strongly expressing the view that it was wrong for girls to be doing cartwheels or handstands in the playground while wearing dresses or skirts because it exposed their knickers.

Which is an interesting counterpoint to this thread.

DH and I have discussed the handstand and knicker flashing thing, and we are probably going against what the rest of the entire country think, but we don't mind DD accidentally exposing her pants when doing cartwheels and handstands.

I have noticed older girls from another school wearing white cycling shorts/short leggings under their summer dresses.

Bring back navy blue school knickers, that'll sort out the problem ! No one will look or even notice, because all the same.

I would ask whether it is also the policy that female teachers can only wear skirts / dresses - and then ask if trouisers are regarded as acceptable work wear for women, how come they aren't acceptable school wear for girls.

And then I would send her to the school, in trousers of the correct colour. I certainly wouldn't reject the school becauyse of its uniform, but nor woulsd I accept that just because they have a daft uniform policy you have to accept it [state school - in a private school it seems to men that beingdressed absurdly is part of what you pay for. Why pay lots and fail to advertise it by wearing a uniform that COULD be a state school one?]

Some school trousers do look not great on girls. IME it is usually to do with the fact that it is hard to get properly-fitting ones, especially for slim tall girls.

I am not usualkly a rule breaker, by the way. I just cannot think of a single rational reason why a primary school would stop a girl wearing trousers if it allows trousers for boys in the same colour:

"It's not smart" - well, it's smart on a boy, why not on a girl.

"Girls should wear skirts" - see above about female teachers ... and anyway, why???

"Parents like it because we look 'more like a private school' than the other schools in the town and they like that" [a reason genuinely advanced why a school local to me wears shirts and ties] - wouldn't you prefer to be judged on the standard of your education??

"It has always been like that and nolbody else has complained" - well, i'm complaining now. Do you have a REAL reason to give me? Are you usually this closed to innovation and new ideas? Do you think that is a good thing?

I'd be very interested to know where the school in the OP is, as today I actually discovered that there's a school a few miles from me which doesn't allow the girls to wear trousers. I was chatting to a mam from the school and another lady by chance and the subject cropped up. I wasn't as flabbergasted as I would have been had I not read this thread, but I was still outraged on the girls' behalf.

And yes, it appears that most of the female teachers wear trousers most of the time. Lesson in hypocrisy right there then.

For info, it's an RC Primary school.

Wow lots of replies. Lots of opinions, basically torn between standing up to the rule or 'their way or switch school'. The HT did phone back as requested and it turns out the majority of parents actually wanted the smart uniform to stay (blazers, ties, skirts only for girls) as it looks smart and traditional. Any compromise like cullottes, trousers on swimming days to avoid tights, leggings under skirt. No, none of that. Frankly there's a whiff of the pseudo private school ethos some of you alluded to though. I suppose daughter will have no choice, and knowing all girls will be the same should make it easier as its appearance not the (im)practicalities of skirts that bothered her, and we don't want to start on the wrong foot over a minor irritation like this. My only gripe is what I'll spend on tights all year which will at least keep her warm and covered up.

Curiously it is also an RC school like another poster. May be a peculiarity of faith schools, though the RC school she has gone to so far does allow girls to wear trousers despite a strict uniform.

Its just strange because school uniform will never be the most comfortable outfit children wear and given the choice they would wear jeans or trackies not school trousers, but where do you draw the line?

Hmm. I wonder if non-faith state schools wouldn't be able to ban trousers for girls as it goes against equality policies LAs have to abide by, but maybe the RC, and perhaps CofE, schools aren't bound by the same policies.

If you're up to it, might be worth ringing your local education authority and checking that out.

The thing that bugs me about these kinds of rules is that nobody is saying all of the girls have to wear trousers, so they're not being forced into doing something they're not comfortable with by letting other girls wear trousers. Bah!

Incidentally, can't be the same school as the one I found out about doesn't do the blazers and ties thing, so I suppose that's something.

I know I haven't been posting in a while but just popping in to say there was a governors meeting today and it has finally been agreed girls can wear trousers (and boys can wear skirts, doubt any will take up the option). There were increasingly many girls and parents wanting the rule changed and it seems like the message has got through, and I applaud DD and others for arguing the case in such a grown up way. She isn't throwing her skirts out yet, she is just glad to have the choice like anywhere else. Hope to take her for school trousers tomorrow. Only 6 months left at the school though welcome at this time of year, its a matter of principle.

Moral of the story, persistence can pay!

Pleased for you OP

I remember this thread well so huge well done from me

I actually thought enforcing skirt-wearing was a thing of the past!

Me too and I also thought that there had been a court case in the 90s!

Glad that the school has seen sense OP.

In some schools they prefer girls to wear trousers as it's easier than worrying about skirt lengths ;)

Congratulations OP, this is definitely something that you and your DD can look back on and feel proud about.

Why do you hate seeing girls in trousers, soontobesix?

nice one!!!

great work

Gah - I should read the date on posts

this is good but I'm wondering what the law is....no way should girls be forced to wear skirts in 2016!!!