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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

School skirts

16 replies

seeker · 11/05/2008 12:18

I'm hunting for a pleated skirt for my 12 year old dd. It has to be navy, about 2 inches or so above the knee and in nice material and not have an elasticated waist. And not knife pleats. Any ideas?

OP posts:

ellingwoman · 11/05/2008 12:22

Are you near East London?

Henry Taylor, my favourite school outfitters, may be worth a try. Tel 0208 521 2413

NaughtyNigella · 11/05/2008 12:28

check your school policy before buying it.
my DD and her mates have just been told off because thir skirts are too short - not tarty short - just above the knee.
the policy says knee length - so back to trousers for DD.

RustyBear · 11/05/2008 12:30

Most John Lewis branches sell a wide variety of pleated skirts.
It may start off 2 inches above the knee, but I bet it won't stay that way for long

Whizzz · 11/05/2008 12:57

Can I also just mention if your DD does insist on wearing a short skirt to school, to remind her how to sit so she doesn't show her knickers to all the lads sat opposite (as happened in a Yr 7 class last week )

roisin · 12/05/2008 12:02

As a parent I would always buy a longer skirt, because the girls do pull them up or roll up the waistbands to make them shorter anyway.

roisin · 12/05/2008 12:04

Our girls' skirts are dreadfully short, and I hate it. Some of them wear shorts under the skirts, which apparently makes it ok! It is an improvement on a thong anyway.

I usually adopt my 'stage whisper' to say to said child "Lucy, if I can see that you've got pink knickers on today, what do you think the rest of the class can see?"

Original poster

seeker · 12/05/2008 14:29

2 inches above the knee isn't short, is it?

OP posts:

roisin · 12/05/2008 19:42

2" above knee isn't short, but (depending on how tall she is) 4" above the knee is short. If she's at a school where the girls don't pull up their waistbands, then no problen.

GregorSamsa · 12/05/2008 19:45

Roisin, dd1's secondary school insist on skirts that cover the knees. The savvy girls roll them up to show an inch of knee and think they're being really daring. Arf.

roisin · 12/05/2008 19:50

Yes GregorSamsa (I'm still getting Kafka shudders from your name. When are you changing back?) A couple of local schools have started having a 'uniform' skirt, which is really long. I think generally they look so much nicer.

Many of the girls at our school have tree trunk legs, and yet insist on wearing these tiny short skirts: it's really not flattering. For the ones who look good in a short skirt, the look they are creating is not suitable for a school environment where the boys are expected to be able to concentrate on their work!

Original poster

seeker · 12/05/2008 19:54

It says on the uniform list 2' above the knee. Trouble is, you only have to grow and inch or two......

OP posts:

roisin · 12/05/2008 19:58

Ah, right. How strict are they?

At my mum's school "XXX College for Gahls" during assembly they had to kneel up and the HT would come round with a ruler to measure whether their skirts were regulation length! (3" above the knee in that position I believe.)

fizzbuzz · 12/05/2008 20:16

What I find interesting about this is: In the massive comprehensive I teach in (1900 kids)none of them seem to wear skirts or very very few...there has certainly never been a length issue about them. They all wear trousers (although some shorts have been sneaking in lately......)

GregorSamsa · 12/05/2008 21:06

At another local sought-after catholic school (state) the uniform specifies white knee socks to be worn with the mid-calf length kilt.

Foxy. Not.

But tells you something about the discipline, if they can impose white knee socks on 15yo girls.

Original poster

seeker · 13/05/2008 09:19

At dd's school they have a "formal" skirt - straight with a kick pleat that they wear on dress up sort of occasions, and trousers or other navy skirts (strictly between 2 inches above the knee and 2 inches below the knee) the rest of the time. Dd likes wearing a skirt, and the straight one looked fine with tights in the winter. But I'm looking for one that would look ok with socks - her current one looks all wrong. It's hard to find navy, strangely enough!

OP posts:

kritur · 21/05/2008 21:18

We have recently brought in knee length grey pleated skirts which I am constantly getting irls to roll back down. They look like slappers and I don't want to see their knickers. Worse still some wear knee socks in an ironic way a la Britney and don't realise that is there is a gap between their over the knee socks and their skirt then I know their skirt is too short. Those who wear their skirts longer look much smarter and are taken more seriously.

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