School brings in trousers only rule for all pupils - schoolgirls said to be in tears ...

[IwantToRetire]

Schoolgirls have been left "in tears" after a controversial new uniform rule was enforced at the start of the school year, with furious parents claiming some pupils were stopped from attending lessons.

The row has erupted after Co-op Academies Trust introduced a trousers-only policy across its secondary schools from September.
Some families have refused to accept the change, with pupils at Co-op Academy Failsworth in Oldham arriving for their first day back on Wednesday wearing skirts.

Parents claim that a number of Year 11 girls were not allowed into class, with other pupils affected when they returned on Thursday.

The policy also applies at Co-op Academy Walkden, Co-op Academy Swinton, Co-op Academy North Manchester, Co-op Academy Manchester and Co-op Academy Belle Vue.

Full article https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/schoolgirls-tears-being-turned-away-100800000.html

'having to confront significant numbers of students about dress code violations several times a day was negatively impacting relationships between staff and students'

No shit!

My dd is in an all girls fee paying school who are strict about uniform, and clear about it from day one. Yes some of the girls roll the skirts up, but not short short, usually to just above the knee. Any shorter and they will be sent into the loo to correct it, or sent home.

All this is just one more example of why uniforms for school are more trouble than they're worth. No uniforms here andthe teenage girls are almost universally in jeans or tracksuit bottoms, like I bet those British teenage girls wear on the weekend.

What a complete waste of time, money and energy all this nonsense is.

In the summer girls wear jeans/ tracksuits and leggings?

Well yes generally to school because it's not often hot here and summer holidays start early June anyway, but on the few hot days either in term time or out of it they seem to mainly wear shorts.

100%

It's a weak substitute for 'discipline'.

Rigid rules like this create pointless power struggles and completely fail to address the actual issues of discipline and relationships in schools.

I used to live near a Catholic girls school that had what must be the most hideous uniform in Britain. The skirt had obviously been commissioned with the brief to create the most unflattering and unsexy style possible. It was brown, tartan/check, and A line to below the knee. So much material it would have made a baggy spare tyre if you'd tried to roll it up. Quite an impressive design feat really. I would be intrigued to know if the girls there would choose trousers, or if the parents would weep and wail if they became mandatory.

If you live in London, public transport involves a lot of steps (Tube entrances/double decker bus stairs). This means the arses of the people in front of you are at eye level when ascending. Currently that means having to view the bare cheeks of young women and the underpants of young men whether you want to or not. Another reason to prefer winter.

No uniform is more trouble than it is worth. I bet all those tracksuits have to be from a certain brand, and then there is bullying for the girls that can't afford the branded stuff. And every year it escalates with the expectation that they have £1k+ coats etc.

Then you have to get a clothing policy for what is acceptable non-uniform. It's a mess.

Well this 35 degree summer no girls was wearing anything like that and the sixth form girls wore a variety of mini shorts/longer shorts/ mini skirts/ longer skirts/ dresses.

should skirts be banned and only shorts to the knees?

Out of interest, what were the boys wearing for uniform? Would it not be an option for the girls to wear the same thing? (Or similar.)

I don't know what to tell you, but that just doesn't happen. Perhaps it is cultural though (we are in a Nordic country). I've never heard any discussion or disagreement about what children or teenagers are wearing to school except occasional reminders to make sure the little ones have rain clothes in wet weather. There aren't any guidelines and nobody ever talks about it.

No, we didn't have uniforms when I was a kid and it was exactly as you say. Uneventful. No big issues. Girls wore jeans and sometimes skirts, there were no big endless debates.

No idea it’s an all girls school.

always has been a bit of a quirk of schools though that girls are allowed to wear what they like (usually here are a few rules about no strappy tops and crop tops but nothing about no skirts ) but boys have to wear suits. I always thought it was sad the girls could wear jeans and were ready for university and boys had to look like they were ready for 12 hours days in a law firm

No, all those would be fine. There aren't any rules.

If a girl or girls burst into tears because they were expected to wear entirely ordinary garments, between breakfast time and early evening five days a week in termtime, for six years, that indicates that there is something pretty badly wrong with their sense of priorities.

They have the chance to work hard, acquire both knowledge and life skills, practice dealing with various forms of tests and assessments, do sports and art and music, and interact with people of their own age (which can be a horror or a joy) and they throw a meltdown over their school uniform?

Seriously unbalanced and should not be encouraged.

What kind of a pathetic wet wipe attitude to school uniform is this?! Bursting into tears. FFS. Absolutely ridiculous.

Might seem obvious but they clearly felt they needed to spell it out. There seem to be enough parents and students who think that tackling kids about clothing is just a power trip for all teachers. I'm sure they exist but most of us hated it.

What do the girls wear when out of school uniform? I reckon it's jeans, wide legs, jog pants, yoga pants and so on. I've never seen teenagers wearing a skirt when out and about!

So mirror the leisure wear, make it practical for all sizes and shapes, e.g. elastic waist, not fitted, loose, with a light jersey/viscose etc. version for coming into Summer, and a heavier version (like fleece lined) for Winter. Plain black, white polo shirt and black cardigan, all available off the peg in supermarkets and other ordinary shops.

What say you?

Well it does happen.

A parent I know is under pressure to buy their child a £1k+ Canada Goose coat because the other kids have one.

I really think schools who ditched uniform and just let kids wear more or less their usual clothes would find they had far fewer problems with appropriateneaa of clothing. They could have a school hoodie or sweatshirt and just let them wear jeans, even.

I'm saying it doesn't happen here. As I say, perhaps it's a deeper problem within the culture.

Idk about teenage but primary stage here it works well.

It's a bit like saying there is climate change and then you saying "well there isn't climate change on Mars".

British schools have uniform policies to fit in with the culture of the Britain. People are seriously naive to think everything will be better without school uniform, it seriously won't.

Yeah I have my own theories about the chicken and egg of that situation but it's certainly a fact that people in the UK will never stop arguing about what children are wearing to school. Someone's always cross about something being inappropriate or too hot or too cold or too uncomfortable or too scruffy or too expensive or not fair. It all goes round and round ad infinitum so I was just saying how nice it is to be out of it (and I grew up going to schools with uniforms in England).

Discussions about schools here are all about behaviour and learning, which are more interesting and important imo, and God knows there are enough problems there.

I see plenty wearing skirts actually. If you go in the girls section of shops like Zara, you’ll see plenty of skirts on the racks. I bought two skirts for my daughter from there recently.