What is the issue with the coats?

[Leffeandolives]

I have heard to be prepared for my DC not to wear her coat from next year that she will go to a secondary school. At the moment she does, so I don't understand what would change next year!

Is it true? Do secondary schools advise kids not to wear coats in winter?

If there are no lockers are there no pegs too?

Could they not place them at the back of their chairs as we do at work?

Apologies but I am not originally from the UK, have not attended a British school and I don't know how it works.

When I went at school, we had pegs in each classroom or put them at the back of our chairs (most of the times). And we always wore them during the breaks that we had to be outside at the playground. Actually we could wear them whenever we wanted to wear them!

Help please!

My son’s school don’t have lockers as they were constantly broken into and stuff stolen so they got rid of them.

He takes a thin north face coat if it’s raining but if not he doesn’t take anything. They have to put them in their bag so they can’t really take anything bigger anyway. He wears thermals from m&s and will wear gloves and a hat too if it’s freezing cold.

I'm 68.

I never wore more than a blazer at secondary school, not matter the weather.

I can't even remember about it being 'cool' or not. It just didn't happen. Most of us walked to school - and at that age, if we were cold it was a brisk walk. Other schools there was a bus ride. Bus stop was cold but the journey and riding bit were warm. We were kids, we were active, we had built up immune systems and it worked fine.

I think that now the poor children should be made to wear coats because .... errrrrr no let them make their own choices.

And for teens peer pressure is understandably the most important thing

Hi, So I’m a high school teacher and often wonder about the coat situation.
In my school there are lockers but as others said they are often miles away from where they are and it wouldn’t always be allowed to go to the lockers. Their main option would be to keep coats on the back of their chairs in classrooms. They are NOT allowed to wear their coats inside the building so would need to carry them around. Which as they move every hour I think is part of the off put.
It is peculiar though as what you may count as the more popular children often do wear coats. Obviously ridiculously expensive designer ones. A few children wear normal plain coats. I’ve never seen anything said to or about anyone for wearing a coat.
Having said that even in snow the most I would see is about 5 of my form of 25 wearing a coat. There are definitely more year 7s wearing them and it gets less and less as the year/ years go on.
I genuinely assume it’s because they can’t be bothered to carry them around all day along with their other things and constantly lose them and leave them places.

Most of the kids at my school wear coats but they have to take them off and put on the back of their chair in class

Where I am in South London they are mostly wearing coats. The 10 denier tights stresses me out!

my teens do wear coats. but they cycle to school. that would be very uncomfortable on a cold and wet winter's day.
they don't like to wear jumpers though even though temp at school is at 18 degrees. (no uniform)

@Leffeandolives

LOL OP you can't catch a virus by being a bit chilly

We live quite near a busy bus stop, a lot of kids have to walk about 20' to/from the local state high school to get to it and are stood there about half an hour waiting for a bus. So I see them every school day, and I have never seen one in a coat, just the synthetic-looking blazer.
I have seen a few walking down other roads with a coat, it's very hard to not give them a patronisingly approving nod and smile for dressing sensibly.

Once they get to sixth form coats are allowed again as they transition back into human existence. My 17 yo DD went to school in a massive long tiger print fur coat yesterday morning!

And BTW, she says she's one of the 'coolest' fashionistas at her school (according to her own assessment).

Its nothing like not wearing shoes though is it! Mine will wear one at weekend but with a t shirt and never zipped up. They are growing up they want to fit in.

We were not allowed to wear boots to school so often had wet feet all day. We were only allowed to wear coats if the headmaster decided it was cold enough and put a notice on his office door. Of course, you had to walk to school to see it so.... If you see caught with a coat, it was detention.

I am so glad the only stipulation my DC's (primary) school has is all children must wear weather appropriate clothing there is no uniform. I regularly see secondary children on the bus and at this time of the year they're all in winter (North Face) coats and trainers (Nike).

I can’t help laugh at the irony of this given the amount of uniform policing that goes on in English schools 😂

At highschool kids either wore blazers or coats, I hated the blazer so wore a coat, I can’t remember at what age I stopped, it was the 80s so some time ago. I do remember that after school I definitely didn’t wear coats especially on a night out, I remember wearing the skimpiest outfits and trying not to slip on ice but wouldn’t be seen dead in a coat. Then I moved to London wear the slightest chill everyone wore coats. I still remember the grief I got going home and wearing coats on nights out, I was constantly called a southern softy 😆

No lockers at my kids high school. They carry all their luggage round with them but from what I've seen waiting for him to come out at 3pm ALL the kids wear coats and it's got to be Northface or an outdoorsy brand depending on your clique and for girls it has to be cropped 🥶 and have a massive furry hood. Coats are perfectly acceptable

Yeah I never wore a coat to secondary school. It drove my parents nuts. Some of the kids who get the bus to school outside my house wear coats. I would wait until after they start school and then they can get the same coat that everyone else is wearing and have decided is acceptable, otherwise they won’t wear it. If you get a superdry one or something like that, be prepared for someone else to nick it. This happened to a kid in my form at the private school where I was working and for some reason the parent thought it was my responsibility to track down the coat.

I have three teens who will wear coats when it’s freezing or raining. But they won’t have them zipped up as apparently it might make them look fat. 🤷‍♀️

Our DCs school allows plain black or navy coats (although don't really enforce too hard) but DD would never wear a coat in years 7-9 because no one did. Wouldn't wear a school jumper either.
Now in upper year, they found a vintage leather trench coat and they will wear that but only because it's the only nod to their alt look they're allowed.

DS wears one willingly as he hates the cold

They all wear coats at my DD’s secondary school.

Are you sure you don't mean a jacket and coat? It's a different thing - jacket material is a bit softer, especially compared to horrible polyester school uniform blazers. Very few people wear blazers in the workplace.

can’t help laugh at the irony of this given the amount of uniform policing that goes on in English schools 😂

What is it with schools and their absolute obsession with uniforms?! We get weekly reminders of what is and isn't acceptable. The list is as long as your arm. I swear it must be more relaxed in the army.

My ds's schools doesn't have lockers or pegs, they have to carry them around with them from lesson to lesson, along with their heavy and full bags and their coats HAVE to be plain black, so mostly they are not coats they would choose to wear. My ds is wearing one at the moment as it's so cold in the mornings but more often than not he arrives home carrying it and when it warms up slightly he won't wear one.

The secondary school I attended, and where my children will (unfortunately) have to attend too, do not permit coats on school grounds. So as soon as they walk through the gate they are made to remove them, no matter the weather. I wouldn't mind, but from the school gate it is still quite a long walk until they are actually in the school building - and if it's raining heavily their uniforms get soaked and remain so for the day. What irks me most is that the teachers stood at the gate every morning are wearing - of course - big thick coats. Same at break time. Whilst the children are forced to carry theirs around or stuff them (sometimes soaking wet for the kids that walk) into their bags with their work books, PE kits etc. It's cruel and unnecessary and I wish I was in a position to home school.

The army issue uniforms.

I think that's what schools should have to do. Parents pay a price at the start of term and uniforms issued as and when needed with PP pupils not paying at all.

So a girls trousers are too tight, she is issued a new pair. Growth spurt - new uniform.

That way they can police it all they want.

Their own, who else do you think would be at fault.
I bought my DC's coats, if they were stupid enough not to wear them that was their lookout but coats were def not cool to wear at high school