School uniforms

The point being that a lot of us do have to.
I constantly have my eye out for uniform in charity shops, but have never seen any of the logo stuff there.
I think they must be worn until they're battered and ready for the bin.

The main argument for school uniform is that it stops the rich children from wearing expensive designer clothes. But instead of choosing a uniform that is affordable by all a lot of schools are forcing poorer parents to go into debt to buy the schools expensive designer uniforms.

I think this can only be solved by the government stepping in and saying that all schools have to have the same basic uniform that can be bought cheaply from supermarkets in a range of colours and the school can only choose the colour.

I always pay for both DGD's school uniform and shoes etc as I always found it a struggle in the past .Happy to help out

All our GC have to wear uniform at nursery, primary, juniors and secondary levels. For the youngest ones uniform can be bought anywhere so long as it's the right colours. Sweatshirts and polo tops with the school logo on them can be ordered through the school.

At secondary level all uniform has to be ordered from the schools, it all has embroidered logos. Style and colour of shoes are specified but not the make, so less expensive brands can be worn. The girls can wear trousers but they must be straight leg style and tailored, not tight fitting. I have to say their uniforms seem to be good quality, survive frequent laundering, and can be passed on to younger siblings in due course. But it's still a big expenditure to begin with.

But what gets me is that parents now have to provide so many extra things for lessons such as exercise books, sports & art equipment, musical instruments, and now tablets and laptops. It's all expensive stuff. And don't get me started on the school visits and trips abroad that they seem to deem necessary!!

When I started secondary school 60 years ago my uniform was only available from one shop, the Co-Op. My mum saved up her Divi for over a year to put towards it. We were measured when ordering and the Co-Op did alterations free of charge if needed. There was a winter and summer uniform for both girls and boys. It was superb quality - woollen blazers and skirts, a warm showerproof winter coat, pure cotton blouses and socks - it never wore out, I still have my school tie! Only the blazers, coats, ties and hats had to have the school badge on them, sold separately and sewn on by hand. Mum always bought me Clarkes shoes anyway.

The school had a 'donated' wardrobe of uniform for emergencies, no payment necessary though a donation to school funds was always appreciated. They even cut off the name tapes in the clothes!

I think buying the school blazer and tie is fine, but whereas kitting out used to cost about 200 pounds, it's now nearer 600-800.
It's ridiculous!

Why do we need school uniform? Other countries seem to manage to educate their children without any uniform, let alone excesses like my grandson who had to have PE socks from one supplier that were embroidered with his initials! If we must make our children wear uniform it should only be the generic, stocked by every supermarket variety. I muse why the staff at the school can function without a uniform, or even a strict dress code.

GS1 is nearly 15 and 6' 2". Has to buy men's trousers now. His feet are size 11 and school shoes stop at size 10. The bill for September has been kept down to £80 by hoping last year's sports kit won't look too small on him.

As someone said, the idea was to put children on an equal footing, regardless of the household income.
Like most things, it has been turned into a business arrangement.

MissAdventure

The point being that a lot of us do have to.
I constantly have my eye out for uniform in charity shops, but have never seen any of the logo stuff there.
I think they must be worn until they're battered and ready for the bin.

that is what happened to all my kids stuff tbh

I always try and eek out stuff from holiday to holiday, but last year the costs were ridiculous, what with lockdown and rules changing.
Each time, he grew a bit and stuff was outgrown before even being worn.

Thank goodness many 6th Forms allow students to wear their own clothes. Two grandsons, now well over 6' would cost their parents a small fortune if they had to be kitted out with school uniform. Only a very large 13-year-old is left in secondary school! When DS2 was in 6th form (30 years ago) they could wear their own gear but not jeans, though he could make any trousers look disreputable.

My grandson's 6th form insists on suits (nothing too loud), luckily they managed to get two quite cheaply in the sales last summer. The girls get more choice but have to dress formally.

widgeon3

son had a daughter at private school... uniform essential. after GCSEs she transferred to a state school,
He explained to a friend that this was in part due to the cost. The friend laughed and said that with incidentals, her own daughter had cost more at a state school than in a fee-paying day school. One school trip alone to south America for those learning Spanish cost more than £3,000

But in private schools you pay for expensive trips on top of the expensive school fees - skiing trip to Switzerland, Rugby tour of South Africa, Choir festival in Prague, trip to New York (are among those that private school educating relatives and friends have paid out for. So you still pay out double.

One big positive in Sweden is you are not allowed to charge for trips that occur in school time - you can fundraise or apply for grants and stipends

I started secondary school in 1980, my blazer cost £145 and my school scarf was £32. My Granddaughter has to have the school logo on every piece of her uniform, the hoodie for P.E is £50, time for the government to put an end to this con

I started Grammar school in 1955. I was bright but poor . The London County Council gave me a uniform grant of £111.00, an unbelievably large sum as my father was earning about £6 per week as a general labourer.

It didn't cover the the cost. My parents couldn't add to it: They had three other children to feed.

Consequently I was in trouble from the first day. Initially because I didn't have Indoor Shoes then because I didn't have the right PE kit' It went on and on.

Imagine how I felt on the first day of the Summer Term when I walked into school wearing my navy blue pleated skirt, gold blouse and velour hat to see all the other girls in blue and white gingham dresses and panama hats. I hadn't known there was a summer uniform.

Eventually it became too much and I started bunking off. I went back towards the end of each term, borrowed my friends' note books, learnt them off by heart and did really well in the end of term exams. I always got a prize at the end of the year.

It horrifies me that kids are still being put through this torment!

I’m in two minds about the necessity for a school uniform anyway. A dress code would be more appropriate. My sons secondary school in the ‘90s stipulated colours, none logo trainers, (not that easy to find) and asked pupils not to come dressed “as though for the disco” or in summer, “a day at the beach” . Shorts allowed for all but knee length and properly tailored (these were not fashionable at the time) They had a rule about haircuts for boys being “not too short” as it could be perceived as aggressive! In practice most boys dressed in cheapest acceptable (to a teenager) black trousers, boring white shirt (no tie) shirt permanently hanging out as was the horrible trend of the 90s.

Oh boat the pleated skirt was the work of the ? a gold blouse sounds nice though.

As an ex secondary teacher in a very large school with several spread out buildings I was aware of one invaluable advantage of uniform. In my day school sites were not always as secure as they are these days with perimeter fencing and locked gates during the school day.
So if you saw a teenager - of either gender- wandering round the site not wearing school uniform, you would automatically challenge them and involve security if necessary. If in uniform you would also ask why they were out of class and a pass usually had to be produced, but the security aspect was an important one.

I like school uniform but there has to be a happy medium. For primary school it is surely enough to have trousers, skirts, summer dresses and polo tops that can be bought in any supermarket or chain store with a reasonably priced jumper or sweatshirt with the school logo. For secondary schools again the basics of the uniform should be available anywhere but this time with shirts or blouses instead of polo tops. The school tie should be inexpensive and again a jumper or cardigan with a school logo is enough - no need for blazers. I cannot for the life of me understand why state schools need special PE kits. I always bought Clarks or Start Rite shoes for my children, though, as they last longer and are better for growing feet. Cheap shoes are often a false economy. I was always very grateful for hand me down uniform items too.

captainscarlet

My oldest grandchild is 10 years old 5 foot 9 and size 12 adult shoes. The whole lack of flexibility of logos which supposed ly means primary school pupils feel more connected to the Identity of the school, which is beyond their years. Its just ridiculous. You can imagine the inflated prices being paid just because she is ahead in her development

This is very unusual but must be a nightmare to get clothes and shoes to fit and be age appropriate. My children were the opposite. My daughter started school taking size 6 infant shoes. This was a problem because infant shoes are not as hard wearing as school shoes. When she started secondary school at 11 1/2 she was in child size 13 1/2 and the shoes in that size are generally aimed at much younger children. As an adult she takes size 2 and sometimes 1 or 1 1/2, depending on the style of shoe.

It’s ridiculous for the school to stipulate each pupil has to have logo uniform. Socks for PE at £14 a pair? What nonsense. Schools should realise that parents this day and age cannot run to that. It is so much cheaper for supermarket primary aged uniform to be obtained, but forget it for secondary schools. My children always had good shoes to last, and usually M&S uniform which was handed down to the youngest. I never received any financial
Help from any grandparents for any school shoes, uniforms or winter coats. I went without, myself -to enable the uniform to be purchased.

It's not one pair of socks, either.
One for rugby, one for indoor p.e and one for outdoor p.e, along with separate kits for each.

We are informed that any child found to not be wearing the correct clothing will be escorted off the premises.

i find all the extra pe kit (non named) is expensive though too
football boots (astro and studs)
trainers
gum shield
they are all ££

I've just bought new football boots, the same as his too small ones (he is now size 11) £95.

There is a HUGE warehouse near me that has anything and everything for babies and children, including racks and racks of used uniform for all/many of the local schools.

Facebook Marketplace or other sales groups will also have people advertising 2nd hand uniform. Not to mention friends/acquaintances passing stuff on.