Secondary schools - girls in trousers or skirts?

[ScottishG]

Just wondering how many secondary schools have a trousers only uniform for girls? I work in a large state secondary. The vast majority of girls wear skirts but can wear trousers if they wish. The skirts are getting shorter and shorter - rolled over until in some cases they are barely covering underwear. Most staff have given up challenging the girls as it is so rife and inevitably the skirt just gets shortened again later. I have worked in schools where there is no skirt option and it feels easier. Also fairer as boys don't have an alternative to trousers. What are your thoughts and what happens in your school?

Teacher and parent of teens. Girls can wear both, hardly any wear trousers. Most skirts are ludicrous. School planning to introduce school skirt with badge, only available in longer lengths. Personally, I would find trousers difficult, DD is a size 4, and 5'8"; it's very difficult to find tailored trousers that fit her. Skirts are easier.

Trousers are more practical for boys and girls, imo, but I don't like uniforms at all. They cause so many problems for teachers, because if a school has a uniform, then the teachers have to enforce it, and they end up spending all their time telling children off. It creates a negative atmosphere, and just gives the children something else to rebel against. It's so much better if you can say to a child, 'You look nice today,' rather than 'Tuck your shirt in' or 'Put your tie on.' When my kids were at school, uniform trousers always seemed to go at the knees every six weeks or so, and I longed to be able to send my boys in jeans. My daughter was forever forgetting vital bits of hers ... Nightmare.

My dcs school is bringing in pleated skirts with school logo to try and prevent the skirt issue. This is inline with at least two other local schools. There have been a few moans but it will be interesting once implemented.

Ours can wear both but vast majority wear trousers.

My school has regulation kilts for girls, only available in longer lengths - however this does not stop 90% of girls rolling them up - they end up with a huge sausage of fabric round their midriff, but rather that that suffer the indignity of a skirt which actually covers their modesty!
But I compeltely understand a teenage girl not wanting to wear ill-fitting regulation trousers - surely an exercise in making girls feel lumpy, unfeminine and unattractive?

boys don't have an alternative to trousers

At my DD's school 95% of the girls wear skirts. Used to be a big problem with tight short skirts but they went to pleated and that helped a lot. Uniform change is on the horizon and we might end up with kilts depending on outcome of consultation.
The old HT used to have the view that kids need something to push against, so if they are pushing a bit on uniform that satisfies the need and they aren't so likely to push on more important stuff.

At my dds school I would say 90% of girls wear trousers

surely an exercise in making girls feel lumpy, unfeminine and unattractive?

yeah because

1. the role of a uniform is to make the girls feel attractive
2. all regulation trousers are rubbish.

I think there will always be girls who hate trousers and girls who hate skirts.
My dd is a trouser wearer, one of a tiny % in her school, but she refuses to wear a skirt, has never worn a school skirt I don't think. But then she would feel very strongly about the quote I highlighted. She would say that you are gender stereotyping girls, and that uniform should allow girls to be gender non typical if they want.

I actually think that if the school didn't have a trouser option I would not have been able to send her there. It is an all girls school, otherwise I think she would have just started wearing the boys uniform.

I am a teacher, albeit in primary, and I think that the best uniforms are the least prescriptive. School blazer/sweatshirt, plus any white shirt and any black trouser/skirt. This usually solves the issue of adapting the 'school skirt' as you can choose your own. You will always get the rolled up skirt though, it is part of school life I think.

The girls' secondary school we're planning to send dd1 to has trousers or skirts (kilts) and I've never seen any of them in trousers - the school is next door to their primary so they all come trailing past!

Kilts make zero difference to them rolling them up. We did that 30 years ago ffs

We have trousers only for everyone. It works well.

The old HT used to have the view that kids need something to push against, so if they are pushing a bit on uniform that satisfies the need and they aren't so likely to push on more important stuff.

couldn't agree more!

"School planning to introduce school skirt with badge, only available in longer lengths"

That won't make any difference - haven't they heard of rolling? - and might breach the up dance for all maintained schools which says single suppliers arrangements shouid not be used. (It's also a bad thing to make uniform more expensive for girls than for boys)

DD's school,has both skirt and trouser options for girls. It had an anti-rolling campaign, even specifying some (high street supplier) preferred styles that were meant to be hard/impossible to roll. They weren't.

And agree with PPs about uniform being a 'safe' thing to rebel against - I've also heard a HT say this. (I'm not staff, btw, just saw this in active)

Dd's school they can wear either but skirts have to be ankle length

Consequently they all wear trousers which when you are a 6ft 14 year old girl is a bit of a nightmare

I find policing girls skirt lengths really uncomfortable- I remember how creepy it felt when I was a teenager and now it feels too much like a version of slut shaming for me to want to do it. Unless someone is actually in their pants I don’t care - though I am of the ‘uniform is stupid’ school of thought anyway so am usually an outlier in matterers if unifirm enforcement!

@steppemum I actually don’t think kids “need” something to push against. The majority will follow uniform roles for an easy life so the kids who “need” to push against uniform enforcement are those who will take any opportunity for conflict - and uniform gives loads of those. I’d rather just not have it but that’s an old, grumpy bug bear of mine.

At my school it goes like this:

• where is your tie?
• I don’t have one

-ok do you need to go to reception and get one

• what miss WHY?? It’s not FAIR why are you always PICKING ON ME?!!?
• don’t start, just go and get a tie and be back in 5 minutes

(Child absconds from lesson - in trouble- still has no tie. Repeat until staff give up and no one knows what the uniform policy is anymore.

Also you can prob tell I’m really looking forward to half term and summer hols!

DD is a trouser-wearer except during her period, when she much prefers skirts for comfort and avoidance of anything showing.

For any girl with a tiny waist and wide hips (or vice versa) it can be quite hard to find school-acceptable trousers without paying over the odds. DD's school had a go at getting them all to wear one specific style from their own supplier, but although they had a range of waist sizes, everything was cut to the same basic shape scaled widthways - so anyone in a 12 or above had trouser legs flapping like sails.

I am in agreement with those who want rid of uniform, both as a parent and a teacher. It's always girls who are targeted with ridiculous slut-shaming/gender stereo-typing nonsense rules on clothes and with more expensive uniform options (badges on the skirts???).

Whoever decided to put adolescents in polyester blazers all day should be shot. They are too cold and flimsy in winter, they are scratchy and uncomfortable and in summer they stink to high heaven. Who here would like to wear a polyester blazer all day?

Kids do not need to be "smart". They are not working in a bank, they are trying to learn and for that they need comfort and practicality. Surely, the most sensible, practical footwear for kids of all ages is trainers?

And don't get me started on bloody skorts.......

Lots of schools near me have skirts with a logo on the waistband that has to be visible so no rolling.

At ds’s school it seems to be a 50/50 mix of skirts & trousers. At ds’s school not one girl wears trousers.

I don’t actually think ANY of the secondary schools around here allow girls to wear trousers.

DDs school allowed girls in the sixth form to wear trouser suits but skirts only until them. DSs school only allow skirts for girls and the skirts have an embroidered logo (as do the boys trousers).

I think most of the primaries allow trousers for girls but the two my children attended didn’t (Catholic schools).

Ds's school has trousers for everyone, seems to work fine.

Skirts for girls and trousers for boys. Wish the girls had the option of trousers.

We're in a hot country and the school doesn't have aircon so in spring, summer and early autumn the girls leave "condensation" patches on the cheap plastic chairs and then get ridiculed for it. Trousers would definitely help as we know from experience on the same plastic chairs ourselves (female staff can wear either).

But also because there should be equality.

And some girls find trousers more comfortable.

Our boys are also allowed to wear shorts in summer.

Trousers only at DD's school. Must be black and straight although there is some flexibility on straight as long as they aren't skin tight, tapered is okay.