School insists skirt is too short

[yesterdaystotalsteps123]

Dd doesn't like wearing trousers and has been told her skirt from Y6 that still fits her is too short. Fair enough I ordered a sensible one from Amazon, it is just above her knees and school are still saying it's too short! Wtf?? How can I address this?

Yeah that was me, I was just interested in hearing outfits ideas for not wearing trousers when excercising as I like both dresses and trousers but often find skirts impractical. Just being chatty not thinking it's impossible

Get a tape measure and use that to ensure you get the right size.

This reminds me too much of the mask exception thread.

I challenged the school uniform rules everyday at secondary school. I wish I'd focused more on my lessons instead of my appearance and not antagonised the teachers so much.

I found skirts very practical when I was bigger after having the kids.

Also way more comfy in the summer.

It pisses me off that do many schools seem to be going 'gender neutral' which in practice means taking away from girls rather than opening all options up for everyone.

And girls who are more curvy get even more shit when they wear trousers that are not cut to understand that some older girls have curvy women's bodies.

All of this is about girls bodies, and sexualisation of schoolgirls. It's awful.

As a long legged woman then it’s not that easy to get skirts that fit. If my partner and l have a daughter they will struggle. He’s also a long legged person. The fixations with girls school uniform is ridiculous

It does seem to be girls that push the boundaries more with the dress code.

Thanks for the Banner trousers tip. DD has been wearing only skirts for the past couple of years, because she couldn't find any trousers that fit properly. She loves her school skirt (a sturdy, non-restrictive kilt with impressive pocket capacity) but trousers might be a good alternative sometimes.

Dd has a Banner regulation skirt that's A line with a pleat and comes in 3 different lengths and lots of different waist sizes so more accommodating to different shapes than some skirts

What an odd thing to post.
Of course skirts are more comfortable as there's far less fabric clinging around and a loose fit is much more easily achieved - even more so with dresses. Whether they are practical is another matter but within the school environment - yes most skirts are practical too for most lessons.
So do give over with bashing women who choose to wear skirts.

By ‘trousers’ I meant all types of leg wear. Leggings etc.

And I am surprised that so many view the skirt/dress as a much more comfortable and practical piece of clothing.

Almost shocking that more men don’t wear them.

@Badbanana

What an odd thing to post. *Of course skirts are more comfortable as there's far less fabric clinging around and a loose fit is much more easily achieved - even more so with dresses. Whether they are practical is another matter but within the school environment - yes most skirts are practical too for most lessons. So do give over with bashing women who choose to wear skirts.*

By ‘trousers’ I meant all types of leg wear. Leggings etc.

And I am surprised that so many view the skirt/dress as a much more comfortable and practical piece of clothing.

Almost shocking that more men don’t wear them.

You just can't stop it can you? You made a silly, sweeping generalisation but carry on digging.

To answer the OP's point it is absolutely ridiculous that a skirt just above the knee should be considered improper or inappropriate but the school, unfortunately, set out quite clearly what their rules are so can point to them.

Our school says skirts must touch knee or longer. My daughter likes her skirts longer length and hers is at mid knee. They are really cracking down on it. But boys get the same - shirt and tie must be just so, trousers certain length and type, hair X length...
If your school is strict about uniform and you choose to send your child there then you need to conform.

Really, we need to open it up so that skirts and dresses are not seen as feminine. It'd solve a lot of these problems.

Controlling what women can cannot wear from a young age.

Almost shocking that more men don’t wear them.

But men are a different shape.

My daughter's school doesn't allow trousers for girls (I don't know of any schools locally who do) but I'm pretty sure if they did, she would still prefer to wear a skirt. She occasionally wore trousers at primary school but went back to a skirt by choice by the age of about 8. She just found them uncomfortable.

Outside of school she usually wears leggings, or occasionally jeans.

When I was a teenager I would have loved the option of trousers for school, but as a middle aged woman I have changed shape so much that I now find skirts more comfortable. Despite that, I tend to wear jeans because if I wear anything else people comment on me getting 'all dressed up' and it gets tedious.

On the school uniform issue, it does annoy me that the girls are policed more than the boys. At DDs school, they are currently having to wear PE uniform all day twice a week as the changing rooms have shut. The school regulation leggings for girls (expensive Canterbury ones, so not see through) are meant to be worn with the hockey skort over the top, for 'decency' which the girls find uncomfortable. Whereas the boys regulation sportswear is track suit bottoms (again, those Canterbury sort of fitted ones) which are more comfortable. Perhaps if 'decency' was really the issue, they could have made the girls uniform a pair of comfortable tracksuit bottoms from the beginning.

My daughter's school doesn't allow trousers for girls

And you accept that?! Where do you live, the 1920s?

How could my daughter climb the school playground set in a skirt? Or play football at break time?

Yes, yes, she could physically do it. But to pretend she could do the same things without humiliation and teasing if her underwear was easily seen is ridiculous. Not to mention the cold/more easily skinned knees that could put girls off playing more roughly at playtime.

Fair enough, some of you find them more comfortable than trousers/jeans/leggings. But to pretend that they don’t limit at all the movement/play of young girls is wrong.

@RiftGibbon

When school rules like this exist, I always question their purpose, and whether they also apply to teachers.

It's a knee length or longer skirt at my son's school regardless of whether you are staff or a pupil. The staff and sixth form have the same standards for clothes.

Not to mention the cold/more easily skinned knees that could put girls off playing more roughly at playtime

My son's school at primary required (and still does) knee length shorts for boys all year round as skinned knees were better than torn trousers. The girls have the choice of cotton dresses and knee socks for summer and wool pinafores and thick tights for winter. At secondary level the girls wear kilts, boys long trousers.

When he was there girls didn't have the choice of shorts or trousers- they do now. Their uniform is very recognisable and I don't think I've seen any girls wearing trousers.

So far as playing , I'm not sure what "rough play " you have in mind for primary children. At my primary school in the 60s it was complex skipping games and hopscotch.

I wish my beanstalk would wear a skirt. Gets needle and thread out to lower hem again.
I wish tunics were allowed at secondary - dd did wonder if she could get away with wearing a salwar kameez but felt it wasn't actually what she wanted. They aren't allowed shorts or culottes - nor the boys.
Female bodies are so variable in shape I wish the schools would permit a greater variety of garments/styles and support the girls in finding something that suits them.

How can girls run or walk if there skirt is actually over their knee?

@yesterdaystotalsteps123 by wearing any skirt that isn't a pencil skirt!

My dd is a lot younger than yours but loves climbing, running and being active. She loves wearing skirts and dresses, which don't stop her.

I posted because I'm on the side of policing girls more than boys is a problem in schools. Maybe some schools started off with the "short skirts are distracting" argument but no they couldn't get away with that now, yet these policies are still kept. I remember the school shoes adverts a few months ago where the gender differences were highlighted by the kind of shoes girls and boys wear, so I do think this school's uniform policy re skirts is rooted in how society views girls' bodies. But yes I also quickly ordered it off Amazon for next day delivery so she could wear a skirt to school this week so there was no trying on.

DD regularly climbs very high trees in skirts and dresses. I wear leggings or tracksuit bottoms for actual exercise, but for day to day activities (climbing up things, bending, anything that involves a big stride or wide stance) I find a skirt or dress far less restrictive than trousers not specifically designed for sport.

I find trousers uncomfortable, but very practical for lower leg protection from thorns and nettles, so that's the sort of situation where I'd plan to wear them.

I think that maybe women who have a body shape that works with trousers don't realise just how uncomfortable they are for those who don't. I don't own a pair of trousers smart enough to wear outside the house or gym which fit my waist, hips and leg length.

But if girls flout the rules more than boys, they need to be 'policed' more.
If her skirt had met the rules (did it not give the overall length in the info?) there wouldn't have been an issue.

So far as playing , I'm not sure what "rough play " you have in mind for primary children. At my primary school in the 60s it was complex skipping games and hopscotch.
I bet the boys took over an entire playground for football though, didn't they?
Though they hopefully wouldn't be allowed to do that now,

Dies she roll her skirt? So what to you looks like a sensible above the knee skirt to the school is a belt? I live near 4 secondary schools and I would estimate 98% of the girls roll their skirts. Plenty also unroll before coming home.

As for trousers being more comfortable I am another one who much prefer skirts. & I have ever got why anyone find jeans comfortable and at age 50 do not own a pair (nor of leggings as dont find them comfortable wither)

I was at secondary school in the 90s and the fashion then was rolling your skirt band so that your skirt was quite a bit above the knee! Paired with over knee socks. Strict Catholic school, I remember in assembly our permanently angry headteacher telling the girls we needed to come to school dressed like decent girls and not like ladies of the night!