If it was down to you, would you want your child to wear a blazer?

[MrsJamin]

I personally don't like them at all but am interested what others think as I'm on a group deciding school uniform for a Secondary school. Are there any manufacturers that make comfortable ones? Would it put you off a school or make you excited if they didn't have a blazer?

Ankle length skirts? Really? How bizarre.

I like my child school uniform , I think it looks very smart. It save the what am I going to wear each morning , or thing they want to wear not been washed and them then getting annoyed , like teenagers do .
Also most teenagers are in adult size clothes so there not cheap especially when they get into the label stuff. So more stuff would go missing , when changing for pe , how you prove it's yours , whoses going to name tag there teenagers regular clothes . That uniform blazer around 40 pounds , if you could get them to wear coat or even a jumper / hoodie , cost a lot more than that . So I'm another parent who like school uniforms .

I would be interested to know if the school uniform haters have teenage daughters . Because having a uniform makes the mornings so much easier.

In fact I don't understand why school uniform brings out such hatred from some people.

DD's school has blazers
Pros: two inside pockets and three outside pockets are invaluable for keeping mobile phone, bus pass, locker key and money safe. They are smart and they give a sense of identity to the student.
Cons: Sizing isn't great. DD's sleeves are too short for her, but the next size up drowns her and the sleeves are still too short.

I am so glad I don't have an anxious DD trying to decide what to wear to school every morning because the uniform rules are non negotiable. Also. buying the uniform is cheaper than trying to keep up with the latest fashion as, apart from the blazer and tie, I can buy everything else wherever I want.

The ankle length skirt rule is to stop them wearing belts and pretending they are skirts but allowing students to have a skirt option to meet cultural/religious requirements

having a uniform makes the mornings so much easier
bunbaker speaks sense there

although i will tell you why it brings out hatred, because there are certain teachers and in fairness they are in the minority, who actually enjoy shouting at people about their shoes or whatever, I mean they actually get a kick out of it, when really they could/should be teaching.

I think it should be provided by the school and impossible to substitute like this one

www.christs-hospital.org.uk/home/gallery/

Randomness
www.hillhouseschool.co.uk/hill-house-uniform/ - those awful breeches right up to year 6
falknerhouse.co.uk/administration/uniform/ - capes and jelly bag hats

blazers are a doddle

Nah still prefer CH's

I'd like to think it wouldn't put me off a school if it had excellent results, good pastoral care etc but had a sweatshirt and polo shirt type uniform, but it probably would.

Sweatshirts are vile. And not all children like dressing scruffily.

Not keen on them, esp the price tag going with them.

Would I take that into consideration to chose the school? Of course not! Results, the ability to care for SN or children with particularly good results etc.. are and will always be top of my list.

We have a very famous girls' school in the town I live. My DTDs have already told me they're not going there because of the uniform. Like it was going to happen anyway...

Yes. As long as washable.

DS' school blazer is 100% polyester and they cost £27 with the school logo embroidered on. I hate DS being encased in polyester, but at least the school jumper they can wear underneath is cotton.

I certainly wouldn't want to be forking out for an expensive wool blazer of my own school days.

I do think DS Would never have his cashless card for lunch if he didn't have the inside pocket.

When both of my DSes were at secondary school they wore blazers, shirts and ties. We could source the blazers from John Lewis, M&S or a supermarket and sew the badges on. It was just as well really because in the final 2 years, DS2 went though 4 blazers due to a growth spurt.

The school decided to change that and you can only buy the blazers from them now. They are in the region of £40 each. The girls wear a regulation blouse and no tie, again only available from the school. The boys wear a tie.

Some of them look smart, some of them look like a bag of spanners. It doesn't matter if they have a blazer on if their shoes are scuffed and dirty, their trousers creased and their shirts crumpled.

I know at the DSes old school they weren't allowed to take off their blazers even on really hot days. They aren't, imo, the most comfortable piece of clothing either.

When they go to the sixth form they wear what they like. The lack of pockets hasn't caused them to lose money or phones, not wearing a blazer didn't make DS1's results go down or change his behaviour, and so far we are seeing the same with DS2.

Useful for pockets. But way too pricey. If DS goes to our choice secondary school, blazers are optional (thankfully) due to many parents not being able to afford it.

anyway polo shirts and sweatshirts can be 'smart' or 'scrufffy' it depends who is wearing them and if they are ironed.

I hate blazers.

I hate school uniform.

And if the future of our world depends on teenagers who can't bloody well decide what to wear in the morning, Heaven help us all.

I come from a country that has no school uniform (and does better in the PISA tables, btw) and I never, ever had trouble deciding what to wear in the morning. Because I am not a fashion victim. It is up to parents to raise their children not to be fashion victims, not rely on enforce conformity.

Rant over.

Why do people think children have to be "smart"? Most of Europe don't seem to think it's important.

Also, the head of a very well regarded and high achieving grammar school near us is vehemently anti uniform. He is always trying to persuade parents and governors to let him get rid of it. He thinks it encourages herd mentality and a loss of personal responsibility and is inclined to make behaviour worse rather than better.

He has managed his other goal- to get rid of any bells or beepers during the school day.....

that is true cerlew and most of Europe outperforms us.
it makes me wonder tho., who actually went into teaching and expected their working day to consist of yelling at people and humiliating them about their attire. sad really.

Well, given that my admittedly odd sons come home from their non-blazer-wearing schools and put on ancient blazers sourced from the charity shop, I guess they'd like one?

My view is warped by having been stuck with the same, unwashable, vast wool blazer from first year to fifth year at secondary, at which point I still hadn't grown into it.

DD is adamant that she's leaving school if they bring one in, so mixed views in this household, clearly.

The whole school uniform thing is just warped. I mean, we stuff them into uniform for anywhere between 11 and 13 years (am allowing for 6th forms without uniforms here) to 'prepare them for the world of work'.

Then we send them to university where they can wear any old thing, because going to university is supposed to improve their career prospects. I mean - where's the actual logic in any of this?

We should be preparing them for the world of work of course - as in, 'if you turn up for an interview in surf shorts and sunglasses, expect not to get the job'. (unless it's for a surf instructor, obviously). I mean, how about teaching them to take responsibility for their own actions?

They're teenagers. They're not supposed to look 'smart'.

My best uniform-defier was to go braless. There was no actual school rule that I was breaking.

Admittedly I didn't get the best O level results in our year but I don't think the boy who narrowly beat me was wearing a bra either