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?

DD goes to an all girls school. She is only in Y7 so wasn't included in the new uniform changes last year. However, the girls school council chose to introduce a blazer to their uniform - was a surprise to the HT when it was mooted and then voted on and won.

I personally am not keen - preferred just the jumper. But now they have a blazer - and yes, a lot of the time DD wears it instead of a coat, not as well as.

And I have never worn a blazer to any of my various jobs. I did possess a couple of suits at one point but one was a purply one with narrow trousers and the other was a corally pink with a v short skirt.

No amount of blazers or shirt and ties could ever have made my DS look smart.

A lot of children can manage to wear a tie and blazer and look really scruffy

I never, ever assumed that blazers were to do with 'preparing for the world of work'
the naice gels schools I went to were preparing us for marrying well
not earning a living ourselves

blazers are portable pencil cases and identical coats
no more no less
and in that they are excellent

Hate them.

The fab super best comp here has the kids wear comfy sweat shirts and their own coats.

Massive overthinking going on about the meaning of blazers. It's just what they wear to school.

Op please tell me you are not based in Wendover?
My son's school is "looking" at the current uniform of polo shirt and sweatshirt. They are a new academy.
I am dreading a change to an even more expensive uniform!

Love them.

Look smart.

DC's stay warm.

Pockets to put train/bus passes in and easy to hand.

They should be machine washable though.

IMO school uniform and especially the more pointless garments such as blazers are to do with dominance. It is about control. It is a way that schools can dominate both students and parents. There is something very basic about telling a parent what their teenage child is allowed to wear.

bowlersarm
most modern blazers are definitely chuck in the machine jobs ....
www.skoolkit.co.uk/productDetail.php?categoryUID=A5507e3a00446&productUID=Ac440a440d3b733d7

Really Worry? It's not just a useful jacket with pockets?

my DS's school is blazers with polo t-shirts and an optional jumper. I was always a bit about polo t-shirts with a blazer, but with the jumper too it looks quite smart. Not so much without the jumper as they tend to wear them untucked. And this is the first year we've ever had issues getting either DS (yr7) or DD (yr 6) to wear a coat. Luckily it's not been too cold this year so far..

Love blazers. As long as you can machine wash them and they are not ridiculously overpriced. Forces something on those who refuse to wear a cost in the dead of winter so at least they are slightly warmer than they would be, and they look much better than a fleece or plain jumper.
Wish our school had them!

worry but personally I am delighted that DD's school has told her what to wear. And that they have told her to wear a practical, dark-coloured garment with plenty of pockets, including a zipped one so that she can carry her mobile in a safe place. Can't say I've ever felt remotely dominated or controlled - it just makes it easier to get her out of the house in the morning. And it washes easily.

(And yes, ours have different cuts for boys and girl - worth making sure any supplier does this. Am surprised to hear that some don't).

I'm with motherinferior et al. I'm not really on board with the universal desirability of 'smart' for children/teenagers. There is something about control in uniform, something about making children reflect the image we want them to.

Over here in Germany there are no school uniforms, for obvious historical reasons, and the classrooms are not anarchic hellholes. Students identify with their schools, and those who leave school and go to work seem entirely capable of appropriate dress. Some aspects of the German system are actually decidedly authoritarian, and not having uniform doesn't influence that. I do think the slogan T-shirts, very short shorts etc I see some teens wearing to school are maybe a step too far, but I don't see the problem with introducing a general dress code to eliminate such excesses.

And I would never, ever describe a blazer as a 'coat', or an acceptable coat substitute. MI had it about right with 'polyester jacket'.

They help DC be organised, ours are machine washable and cheap enough and partly waterproof, so on balance I am in favour.

Sparkling, no it's not useful. It is made of polyester. Absorbs water like a sponge then holds onto it like a plastic bag.

I'm not against uniforms if they have a purpose. My DS is in Army Cadets. His uniform for that is incredibly practical. Even after being lived in out in the field for a week it still manages to look smart.

School uniform and particularly blazers can barely stand up to a week's worth of lessons without looking like washed out dishrags.

A big difference is that DS is in Army Cadets by choice. We dont have a choice about schools (there is only one) and home ed is not an option.

I'm slightly puzzled by blazers being a sign of dominance and control over parents and pupils.

In that case, I definitely like a bit of domination.

I don't mind a blazer.....there is a secondary school I know of where the DC wear polo shirts and sweatshirts, and look like ginormous primary school kids.

Blazers make coats difficult, it seems...or am I missing something?

The only school near hear which has official school coats doesn't have blazers.

I loved mine at school. Being a girl in a tie wasn't great though.