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?

I like blazers because they look smart. Pullovers or, even worse, sweatshirts (what are they thinking - that's sports gear!) never look smart, and even more so after a few washes. However, please specify blazers that are (a) washable and therefore (b) cheap.

my dd1 wore a blazer to school and she always looked a mess tie never on properly and shirt sleeves rolled up - the blazer took a battering and was awful.

dd2 always looks presentable - she wears a sweat top and polo shirt though and they wash well and when i have waited for her out of school sometimes the students coming out always look presentable in this type of uniform.

Whereas when I had to collect dd1 from school on occasions the students coming out where a complete mess - ties shirts and blazers were a mess and very untidy also with bulging packets if they were not ripped.

I didn't seem to make any difference though that dd1 was untidy or a mess as her results were good.

dd1 has never worn a shirt and tie since in her work roles so it didn't prepare her in anyway for work clothing and she is in a management role.

Not having to purchase a blazer for dd2 was also a saving and she wears her coat to school and at the weekends - dd1 never wore a coat as it wouldn't go over her blazer, which meant she was cold walking to school.

senua - why do people have to look smart?

Senua- why do you want teenagers to look smart?

Do you really think they look nice?

I can conceive, theoretically, of an attractive uniform - probably sharp black tailoring, short skirts or killer trousers - but that, frankly, is not what any school I've ever seen provides.

Incidentally LondonMum is wrong upthread - my daughter's Lewisham comp has avoided the blazer horror, concentrating more on building up its excellent academic results instead

I'm more than happy for DC to wear uniform, but blazers are a pain.

Both mine have worn them since reception. Those bloody great wool/felt things.

It does look very smart when they're all at a carol service or founders day etc. But most days they look scruffy, dirty and ill-fitting (half the kids looking like they're wearing their Dad's clothes, the ohter half in balero jackets.

curlew yours is such a good question. I don't give a damn whether my children look smart. What matters is how hard they work, how well they learn and behave at school and how they develop into good people. None of that is influenced by what they wear, it is all about good teaching, good pastoral support and good parental support. Take away any or all of those things and no 'smart' uniform can change the fact that outcomes will plummet.

Uniforms are not about smart
Uniforms are about belonging to the tribe
its part of creating a mindset of cooperating - they have the same blazer as I do so I should help not hinder them

the same applies to ex Harrow boys in their identical blue shirts and pale trousers
or old Etonians with their botoxed upper lips
or football fans wearing the team colours

large groups of people with little in common are easier to manage if you have a means of inducing peer pressure

Just reposting this because I think takin might be interested-

"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....."

curlew
But a grammar school head has that luxury, because he has already filtered out many of the most problematic pupils.

Talkin how on earth do schools in countries without uniform manage to create a 'tribe' then? Because they do. Are British children so much more feral? I don't think so.

MI, I thought after I posted that that your daughter's school (if I've made the right assumption) is probably the exception! I think their uniform looks fine and it's a plus that it isn't a copy of a boy's uniform. My daughter's old school (which you will recognise, I'm sure, from this description) has a uniform with shirt and tie for the winter (open-necked shirt for the summer) but the blazer is optional and very few of them wear it, as far as I can see. Far more wear the school fleece, which is more practical and looks OK.

which countries (other than Western Europe and state schools in the USA) do not generally have school Uniform?

it also comes down to the national psyche of a country - no two are quite the same

Both my DC have a blazer and go to different schools. I prefer the wool blazer as it actually serves a purpose of keeping DC warm as well as being a mobile pencil case. It looks smarter than my other DC Blazer which is not wool - Polyester I think. The wool one is more durable. I sponge clean it as and when needed and get it fry cleaned at the end of every term (if I remember).

Some how the wool one never seems to get as dirty and smelly as the thin one my other DC wears.

Also the wool blazers are very expensive but because they are more durable and last longer and stay looking good for longer there is a brilliant second hand maarket for them at the school uniform shop.

New they start at £60 something for the smallest and over £100 for the largest which is pretty hard to swallow but DC currently is wearing one that looks like new but cost me £15 in the secondhand shop.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_uniforms_by_country

I used to love my wool blazer when I was at school, although I only remember it being a summer thing.

My DD1 is in year 7 and wears a blazer and I think she looks very smart. I agree about the useful pockets. I'm glad she has moved on from the sweatshirt/polo shirt combo that she wore at primary school.

She is at a high performing comp, but some of the less good schools here also have blazers too.

Sutton trust:

SMALLER CLASSES, UNIFORMS, AND PRIMARY HOMEWORK AMONG THE LEAST EFFECTIVE WAYS OF BOOSTING SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

It makes interesting reading. All those received myths of education which have no basis in fact.

Every letter home to parents whinging on about little Jimmy not wearing his tie is a distraction from the useful activity of giving feedback to students.

Windsor know, Edam? I see your Windsor knot and raise you DS's request (with five minutes to go) for me to tie his bow tie for the school concert.

Yup, that's the school without a blazer -- they have DJs and tie-it-yerself bow ties for the Christmas concert.

Ahem. That would be a Windsor knot.

Bow tie? Blimey, I got off easily!

(Did you google?)

I have never in my life tied a bow tie before, but I drew on years of parcel wrapping and hoped for the best.

DS appears to have been suitably wrapped for the event as I didn't hear any complaints.

Oh I'm a real sucker for DS' uniform and yes, I do think he looks so smart in his blazer. He actually really likes it as well and doesn't mind wearing his tie every day. He's got his selection of pins for his various school activities on the lapel and he's really quite proud of his uniform. When he was in a polo top/trousers uniform he never took much care in his appearance. With the blazer/tie combination he's always checking his tie is straight, his hair is combed and shoes polished etc.

Nobody has yet told me why they think teenagers ought to be smart.