Ridiculous uniform policy for secondary

[freakinthespreadsheets]

I live in a fairly poor working class area, former mining village. I don't even have secondary age kids but this has got me riled up.
The local secondary has been taken over by a MAT and introduced a new uniform. They say that the blazer, PE kit and jumper must be logo'd from the supplier (which i think is pretty standard everywhere) but also that every item MUST be Trutex branded. Shirts, trousers and the skirt (which you can't even find a dupe for if you wanted to as it's a silly tartan design). No supermarket brands allowed. The boys trousers must be sturdy or slim fit, girls can be slim fit only (so "fuck you" to girls with thick thighs then??)
They also insist the trousers must not be skin tight fitting and the skirt must be knee length, or detentions will be issued (but they're only allowing one design/fit, from one supplier, so if it doesn't fit a taller/chunkier teen then what are parents to do?).
Not to mention the fabrics are scratchy and kids with sensitive skin (I was one, and Mum had to order my uniforms online from a place that did skinkind fabrics) who might not get on with the plasticy Teflon fabrics.
I find myself fuming on behalf of these parents and teens - as a curvy, tall female with sensitive skin this would NOT do for me at all! Not even sure what my question is, I guess am I being unreasonable in my thinking that this is OTT and doesn't follow the new government guidance (which I know isn't fully compulsory but still)

Edit to add : in a poor working class area, to set a kid up to attend the local high school looks to be around £350 for uniform - the prices are awful, £35 for a skirt etc

@solsticelove Your view of schools is also wrong. A small number of incidents isn’t an epidemic. Home Ed’s socialise with home Ed’s. I used to manage our home Ed advisory service. It’s escaping from perceived nasty children. As you describe. A curated education. I don’t necessarily think school children need to see the rougher sides of life to be fully rounded as it can come later, but school allows them a wider window on society. Quite a few of our home Ed mums said they were witches.Others went off to Stonehenge…...

Not Stonehenge… 😱 😂 weirdos.

Slips aren't a historic garment banished to the past. They are very useful, more so now so many clothes are cheaply made and unlined.

A slip prevents static cling, prevents anyone seeing through thin fabric, stops the lines/seams of underwear showing, gives a nice hang to the outer clothes, means you have soft fabric next to skin, can add warmth in winter or reduce sweatiness in summer, and reduces it washing.

More people should wear slips, they are great.

Agree re slips. Cycle shorts are the new slips though.

I normally do cycling shorts when I'm not wearing tights and a slip when I am wearing tights but in that awkward in-between weather both cycling shorts and a full slip keeps you warmer without wearing tights.

Agree.
Investigate the second hand uniforms.
Kids grow so quickly; there are always reasonable ones for sale.

I don't understand why children are still forced to wear uniforms like that. Hardly anyone in the "real world" wears suits and ties now.

I have teenagers, their uniform is grey shorts or trousers and a green polo top. There's a black jumper for anyone who wants one.

The school in the next suburb is super strict with the uniforms (measuring length of socks) and gets worse results than ours. I definitely think they would do better if they concentrated less on how long someone's socks are and more on the education they provide.

Children can be on an equal footing, so to speak, with a low key, comfortable uniform, it doesn't all have to be stiff, itchy, coated fabrics.

And with the cost of living now, a lot of people would struggle to spend £350 on 1 child's uniform, never mind 2.

I think having no uniform can lead to a lot of hassle and anxiety, particularly in secondary school but a (sensible ) uniform policy levels the playing field.

The bottom half is the exact same for every school in the area primary or secondary so I think it’s council guidelines. God knows what’s made that line needed though, I dread to think

I loathe this whole blazer uniform thing that they are obsessed with.

One of my DGDs schools has a sweatshirt and polo shirt uniform. Much better.

People don't wear suits for every job nowadays. Why this obsession with blazers?

Blazers are really useful garments tbf, especially modern lightweight indestructible polyester washable ones with zipped inner pockets.

This is absolutely ridiculous. Families are really struggling, especially in areas like you describe. How are they meant to afford that? Not to mention the sizing issues.

My son is over 6ft and very slim, I bet they don't have trousers that would fit him properly.

Ds schools allows any black school trousers, white shirts, any black sweatshirts, any black shoes. Blazers not compulsory. You can buy school logo stuff if you want but hardly anyone does as it's expensive. Ds mostly gets supermarket and Next. They give every pupil a free tie when they start at the school. The kids all look smart enough and it doesn't affect learning.
It cost me under £100 for 4 pairs of trousers, 6 shirts, 2 sweatshirts, also new socks and pants. He doesn't need a new PE kit this year but that was £30 last year, same for £30 for a backpack, so £160 all in, plus his shoes (those were expensive but it was my choice to spend extra on those could have got cheaper. Will probably spend more on winter jacket too).

@user1492757084 this is a NEW uniform the school is introducing. There won't be any secondhand.

@Metempsychosis blazers aren't useful. They aren't suitable as an actual coat (don't keep you warm and dry) and putting an actual coat over the top is bulky and uncomfortable.
This is the UK - it's cold and wet for much of the school year 😂

I'm down south, I wear blazers March to October, with or without a trench on top. Never had a problem finding a coat for my teens to wear over the top in the winter.

@Metempsychosis but you must have to buy a coat the next size bigger to fit over it ?
It's just one of those things that as a parent I would just prefer to buy one coat that fits properly suitable for both school and home.

My child’s secondary had every girl in the equivalent of a mini skirt regardless of school uniform rules. I so wish they’d be stricter on uniform.

I remember my dad being horrified at the cost of the uniform when I was starting secondary school in 1969.

I had passed the 11-plus and was going to an all-girls grammar school. The uniform could only be purchased new from one specific outfitters in a nearby town.

Fortunately, there were a couple of places that sold 2nd hand uniform, so a lot of my stuff was bought from those. But we were unable to get a blazer 2nd-hand, so off we went to the outfitters.

The blazer cost £14. I remember it so well because of the fuss my dad made about it. He wrote to the school to complain about the uniform policy and how the uniform was far too expensive (he had to get an overdraft to pay it).

Looking at the two inflation calculators online (from Hargreaves Lansdown and the Bank of England), the equivalent cost of the blazer today would be somewhere in region of £200 up to possibly £300!

@OldBattyBat Same problem here - my grammar uniform was three times my DFs wages. We had an outside loo and no central heating. Priorities were different! Even in those days we had gym shoes, hockey boots. Inside shoes and outside shoes! Most uniforms these days are horrible fabrics. I cannot stand polyester sweaty blazers! At least when DDs went to private school we had long lasting quality fabrics. Simple shirts and no ties Cheap tat sweatshirt at primary fell apart in 6 months.

There's no uniform in any schools in my country (nor dress codes, legally schools aren't allowed to curtail children's freedom of expression via their clothes or hair, except in terms of hygiene and safety, so all kinds of hair styles and colours too) and it works fine, my teenager says there's no pressure to wear any particular clothes, everyone just wears what they like which is mostly comfortable weather-appropriate clothes (so shorts and t-shirts and crocs when its hot, and joggers/trackie bottoms and hoodies when its colder, with comfy trainers or boots in winter and decent coats)

Oh yes, the list was long, wasn't it?!

I had to have white PE shoes for indoor PE, black PE shoes for outdoor PE, a PE top, PE skirt, hockey boots, hockey stick, science overall and art overall in addition to the main uniform, which comprised skirt, white blouse, school branded tie, summer dress for the summer term, school branded jumper, school branded blazer, school bowler hat (and optional boater for summer - the only optional item!), gabardine raincoat, a briefcase and a school scarf.

In the first 2 years I was there, tights were not allowed, so in the winter I either wore thick stockings or long socks.

If anyone was caught not wearing their full uniform (including the lovely green felt bowler hat) when travelling to or from school, they were fined a penny when they arrived at school! The same punishment was applied to anyone seen eating whilst wearing the school uniform. There were spies everywhere, prefects on the bus etc 🤣 but we usually managed to evade discovery and happily bought sweets and ice-cream on the way to the bus stop and ate them on the bus going home! 🍦😂

Hard to get my head around the fact that it was 55 years ago! 😱 Omg.

My kids love their blazers. Loads pockets to keep everything in. Carry more in blazers than their bags!
BUT rest of uniform is supermarket & just black / white apart from tie

@Natsku I would not want my dc going to a school that allowed Crocs. I think a decent uniform does allow for a cohesive ethos. Even then poorly fitting, unwashed and dishevelled uniform still marks a dc out as poor. I think uniform should try and level
up and promote a sense of belonging. It’s clear most private schools value uniform.

@OldBattyBat We had grey wool hockey culottes. No tights. Grey socks. Beret in the winter and boater in summer. Gabardine raincoat with felt lined hood specially made for the school. Very very expensive. There was a hardship fund via the LA though so I don’t know anyone who did not go. It was a very traditional school with standards and no one complained. Most were so pleased dc had qualified to go!

Boaters ended up floating down the river on Founders Day. I boiled my beret to make it looked “lived in”. Over 55 years ago for me!

I thought there were rules to stop this now?

@oustedbymymate There are. Which is why I have some doubts about the truth of this from a non parent - just a resident. Post the policy and I might believe it.

@TizerorFizz why would you not want your children going to a school that allows crocs? Your children wouldn't have to wear them so how would it affect you?
Meanwhile it's great for children who find them more comfortable than other footwear, why is their comfort an issue for anyone else?
You can't hide inequality with uniforms, everyone still knows who is rich and who is poor and the sense of belonging it might bring just meant fights with other schools in my experience. Rather foster a sense of belonging in the wider society than just in the school.