School uniforms

[peasy23]

I can see both sides. I get the point that if a family has to buy uniform then that is less money available to spend on other things, especially if they have more than one child. Worth remembering though that those families in poverty and receiving certain benefits qualify for a uniform grant of £110 per child, which afaik is available throughout Scotland. As for the cost of uniform, things like shirts, skirts and trousers are cheaper now than ever with the big supermarket chains all doing good deals like 3 shirts for a tenner.

Biggest problem I have is when there is a monopoly on where you can buy certain things like blazers, e.g. my daughter's school you can only buy it from one shop. Imo you should be able to buy a badge and attach it to whatever blazer you like. On the whole I think uniforms are a good thing, the gap between the richest and poorest pupils is much more apparent when the richer ones are allowed to turn up in their designer gear.

Our daughter's uniform at primary school where you had to buy the proper branded polo shirts and sweatshirts through the school cost us more over the years than the blouses, skirts etc for secondary school.

[ICTChris]

The case for uniforms, as I see it, is that it encourages togetherness, belonging and an esprit de Corps among pupils. Dressing according to standards encourages pupils to take responsibility for their own appearance and grooming. There are also practical benefits, the reduction in bullying of kids for having shit clothes (can’t eliminate this but can reduce it) and there are studies showing improvements in behaviour and achievement at uniformed schools.

On the other hand, uniforms aren’t going to eliminate bullying and everyone knows who the rich kids are and they can find ways to show it. Uniforms can encourage ridiculously stringent policies from some schools, witness the many haircut related exclusions I used to post about on here. Also, and perhaps the most important factor, is that school uniforms are lame.

[ICTChris]

I always remember reading Boy by Roald Dahl and him describing the insane sounding uniform they had at Repton in his time. Here’s Roald wearing his mandatory straw boater.

 

[GordonS]

3 hours ago, 101 said:

They should be free and standardised if they are truly to stop bullying and make a level playing field then it should be equity for all with a choice from a catalogue and stock in the school.

I remember kids coming in with holes in their shoes and wet feet, utterly depressing looking back.

I often went to school with holes in my shoes and wet feet. Sometimes the soles were so worn through that I put cardboard in them. I can remember doing that right through to my part time job when I was 17.

I genuinely hadn't thought of that until your post reminded me. I don't think it mattered because most of us were poor so it didn't seem strange to me and nobody made fun of it. It was just a thing you did to get a bit longer use out of a pair of shoes. We got clothing grants but it wasn't enough, especially when I was growing fast.

Anyway, uniform, I dunno. But blazers are fkn stupid and should be binned. They're expensive, uncomfortable, impractical, restrict movement and are rubbish in bad weather. The same goes for suits, which we only think look smart because that's what we've grown up believing. Less than 1% of the world live further from the equator that us and we dress like we live in France.

[SlipperyP]

I never wore a school uniform in secondary school t-shirt and jeans or cords as we had no money to buy clothes that I couldn't wear at other times.  There was a few other pupils in the school that was in the same boat.  I was only questioned once by the headteacher, then he left it after I explained.

It a bit of a novelty, seeing by son and daughter in their uniforms going of to school.  

Here you must wear a uniform, which is heavily subsidised, also free (school hand out sport t-shirt and embroidery of names on the shirts).  Each day a different uniform.

Monday - white shirt (name embroided on the pocket - brown shorts

Tuesday - white shirt (school badge) - brown shorts

Wednesday - yellow sports t shirt - black tracksuit trousers

Thursday - scout uniform

Friday - pink shirt - brown shorts

socks and shoes are the same each day (brown) trainers  - every child wears the same shoes.

This is the same the country wide for state schools (different colours on Wed & Fri), private schools wear a different uniform each day also, but not the same as the state kids.

If you can't afford the uniform, the school will buy for you and the monks (most state schools are within the  temple grounds) will wash your uniform and have it ready over the weekend.  Nobody takes the piss out of the as the temple money comes from the locals, we more or less help out together.  No child left behind.  

It has a military regime feel about it, boys short back and sides and girl hair no longer than their shoulder (this is not law, individual school/teachers decide), which I don't agree with. 

There has been an ongoing dispute by student (in Bangkok), not wearing there uniform and basically wanting to wear what they personally want, same as this Lord has mentioned.  

Personally living it from both sides, uniforms for me, however every child should receive their uniform from the school including shoes, same as you get when you start a new job and a uniform is mandatory.  

Edited March 23, 2021 by SlipperyP

[hk blues]

Here uniforms are compulsory but are vague in their definition in public schools i.e. grey/black trousers/skirt and white shirt.  For private schools, the uniform is clearly defined but, as always here, things are chaotic as they often don't finalise the uniform until a month or more into the school year and then they have to be made (they tried off the peg but that didn't end well) so add another month and the result is half the kids are wearing last years, some the new year's and some a mix of both.  We also need a PE kit which is equally jumbled.   It's not expensive, probably  £100 for  a couple of sets for the year.   

 

[RH33]

10 hours ago, Karpaty Lviv said:

I remember my high school blazer costing about £35-£40. It was a simple black blazer with the badge glued on very poorly and would fall off constantly. That was when they started to become compulsory (or rather the head teacher made it so, he would constantly be on everyone’s case to wear them). This was around 2004-2009. 

Primary school stuff was from a shop called Baru in Kirkintilloch. They supplied quite a few schools with kit. 

 

Baru owners are c***s.

This year my kids primary went to polo shirt and joggers/leggings and the kids are much comfier than skirts and trousers.
 

I’m happy enough with polo shirts as it does standardise things a bit. There’s no obligation to buy badged ones. Free school meal recipients get £100 grant but a Blazer could take half of that. Son not looking forward to shirt and tie in high school next year.

Edited March 23, 2021 by RH33

[Silvio Tattiescone]

Think they were "encouraged" but not compulsory at my school. Mine came out of the good old Wonder Store in Methil.

 

I remember one lad getting hauled up by a teacher and sent home to get changed. We weren't allowed to wear anything with writing on the front and he was wearing a Chelsea shirt. "The day you play for Chelsea is the day you can wear their shirt in my class". The lad went away and came back wearing a Scotland top - he'd played for Scottish schoolboys (or youths or something). 

 

I think if you're making them compulsory they should be supplied free by the schools. 

[The Moonster]

16 hours ago, Gaz said:

There's no legal requirement for pupils to wear a uniform in Scotland.

Where does this leave schools in "enforcing" uniforms then? If it's a "School rule" to wear uniform can pupils be forced to wear it? I remember countless folk being sent home or given some sort of disciplinary action for not turning up in uniform at my old school, which I always found bizarre as it was usually the kids who would rather have been anywhere else but school who would come in with no uniform on. "I've to go home? Result."

On the subject, uniforms don't stop bullying. Your schoolbag or your shoes or your PE kit just becomes the next target. Got to agree with GordonEF's earlier post, people are looking to treat the consequences of child poverty here rather than child poverty itself. 

[Raidernation]

As a teacher of many years, uniform is a pain in the arse, just another unnecessary thing to police.

[madwullie]

29 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Where does this leave schools in "enforcing" uniforms then? If it's a "School rule" to wear uniform can pupils be forced to wear it? I remember countless folk being sent home or given some sort of disciplinary action for not turning up in uniform at my old school, which I always found bizarre as it was usually the kids who would rather have been anywhere else but school who would come in with no uniform on. "I've to go home? Result."

On the subject, uniforms don't stop bullying. Your schoolbag or your shoes or your PE kit just becomes the next target. Got to agree with GordonEF's earlier post, people are looking to treat the consequences of child poverty here rather than child poverty itself. 

Technically pupils can't be forced to wear it. 

My mate's mum and dad were proper right on hippies, and my mate was a real manics, nail varnish, face piercings type from about 16 years old. He just kept turning up to school without uniform on and would get sent home, his parents would go in and tell the school he could wear Wtf he liked and so on and so on. 

Ultimately, there's f**k all they can do about it. You'll tend to find it's only middle class / posh parents that push this shit, as with a lot of the stuff that goes on in a school actually - pushy parents get everything they demand, poorer parents just put up with what they're told (wild generalisation but not a million miles from the truth) 

Edited March 23, 2021 by madwullie

[The Moonster]

29 minutes ago, madwullie said:

Technically pupils can't be forced to wear it. 

Handy to know for when I'm sending my future kids into school wearing Fall Guys costumes. 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

When I first went to High School, it was a farily relaxed anything but jeans, football shirts or flammable shellsuits rule.

After a year or two, they decided to bring in uniforms. The colour was chosen by a vote among pupils and of course a very staunch shade of blue sweater was introduced shortly afterwards. I managed to dodge ever wearing it, but would get an occasional ticking off from the guidance teacher for not having the proper uniform.

[Barry Ferguson's Hat]

I really liked the uniform at my school - even if the blazer could get a little heavy in the rain - and still wore it for my first couple of semesters at university. Ultimately had to stop wearing it as the Open Days were a right pain.

[Detournement]

At my school you used to have to wear your uniform to meet up to play sport on a Saturday as well. It had a bit of an FA Cup final vibe despite our football team being absolutely shite. 

[Honest Saints Fan]

As a parent I like school uniforms. I can send the kids to school in non-expensive clothes and not really care what state they come home in. 

 

My head teacher implemented blazers just as I got into 6th year. I'm pretty sure they cost about £70 at the time. They had airline stripes on the sleeves if you were a prefect. Everyone had to wear ties. No trainers. Shirts tucked in. She was trying to be like the local private school. 

[ICTChris]

Are any parents on here guilty of this?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/school-slammed-letter-warning-parents-23766971?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mirror_weird&fbclid=IwAR1qTPTYA-cQMidKQu4fmLZLoulCjGZim_i5Qh7-w1R990CFlDQSrZM8SO0

[Alert Mongoose]

21 hours ago, David W said:

My secondary school didn't have uniform, I wore various jeans and hoodies (which had a pouch for my CD player) for 6 years. I didn't know how to tie a tie until I was about 22. There's probably a connection there.

I remember playing golf at Muirfield when I was about 15 and they wouldn’t let me into the clubhouse without putting a tie on in a Windsor knot. I stood looking gormless for about a minute before the jannie decided to sort it out for me. Still no idea.

[scottsdad]

I'm pro-uniform for various reasons. Cuts out (but doesn't eliminate) the fashion parade based on wealthy parents. Gives a sense of togetherness. Makes pupils looks smart (shirt, tie, trousers, leather shoes, blazer) which I think is a positive thing. 

[DA Baracus]

Blazers are dreadful, dreadful things that should be burned.

See also; ties and shirts.