Coatless kids

We wore coats, and also carried satchels, PE cases and domestic science baskets.

Hard work managing them on the school bus.

If parents would label clothes, they may stand a chance of being returned.

One September when my minded children went back to school I realised I had four of the same Morrison's Nutmeg coat, different sizes, hanging in my hall. Not one of them was named!
As it's our local supermarket I imagine half the school had the same coat 🤦
I always check now and write their names on the label myself.

Sadly many schools don't have lockers any more or not enough for every student, so I can understand them not wanting to carry coats around everywhere, though many do wear coats and then get in trouble for wearing them inside!
When I was at school we had assigned coat pegs for our coats and PE bags. We also had the storage desks with lift up lids so we didn't have to carry all our books around all day. Teachers came to our classrooms to teach us except those with specialist rooms such as science or art etc. Nowadays teachers all have their own rooms and students go to them, so have to carry everything around all day.

Yes! I say this as a retired secondary school teacher,in Scotland! You have to be seen to be 'cool' !!!

I think young people naturally regulate their body temperatures. They don't need the coats, don't feel cold. Tiny babies and very old people I believe are not able to regulate so need to be wrapped up. This is all complicated by our use of centrally heated homes and cars. We really don't need to be hot all the time.

My son used to say that they all have pockets and having a coat meant trying to cram it in song with everything else, often having to walk from one end of school to the other just to get your coat. He decided it wasn't worth it.

My 3 DC’s secondary was huge and they did not physically have time to get to their locker, put in their coat and get to lesson on time. (That’s another issue … had to pay to “rent “ their lockers and eventually they told me not to bother). I have seen them standing waiting for the school bus in the snow without a coat.

School in my days meant you hung your coat on a peg in the classroom or put it in your bag. Never had lockers yet sports clothing/footwear had to be lugged about. No laptops though!

Glorianny

Here in the NE it's practice for when they grow up. They shed clothes year after year until they are old enough to go clubbing, girls in skimpiest dress possible, boys in short sleeved t-shirts.
I on the other hand have reached the stage of adding a layer every decade.

I can remember that Glorianny. The Big market and town was a sight to behold on a weekend . People dressed as if they were in Spain.
My two were the same at school and said it was because people stole out of their lockers and they were not allocated desks like we were in their form rooms. We changed rooms for certain lessons but would never have dreamt of taking someone's books out.
I got so fed up with buying P.E.Kit that I printed their names in huge block letters in a Clothes marker pen on a visible spot like a collar. At first, they objected but soon found other mums were doing the same.

One skinny GS needs several layers to keep warm, his chunkier brother refuses to wear long trousers or a coat.
It all depends on the constitution.

It’s a teenage thing .. maybe one of the few things they feel they can control
They all do it ..they don’t get cold .. nuts but then I seem to remember I may have done the same back in the day .

My 2 grandsons she’s 8 and 5 well around like it’s summer and their mum has to carry their school costs home as they say “they are hot” my daughter finds it embarrassing as she is all wrapped up and it looks like she doesn’t care. But they just don’t feel the cold

Walking into my secondary school, where I work, wrapped up for the arctic passed many students in their school polo shirts. On the other hand been in many a hot classroom and they won’t take coats off !

Juliet27

I think maybe it’s more a case of no common sense in the pupils. I noticed, in freezing weather, a couple of girls yesterday with bare legs and skirts that just skirted their bottoms. The last think they’d want is clothing to cover themselves.

I saw a secondary school girl today wearing a skirt (and thin tights) which did not cover bottom …

Same over here. I wasted quite a bit of money buying winter boots for teens; they never wore them. Mind you, it was minus 10 c here this morning, so hopefully some of the kids actually put on winter clothes.

I was at school in the 60/70s and no one used the cloakrooms, they were open plan and leaving anything there was open open invitation to everyone to help themselves. No one wore a coat and as girls we had to wear skirts and socks until we were in the 3rd year (year 9). I remember red, chapped legs stinging from the rain & soaking wet shoes that never dried in winter. Thank the Lord for central heating & more than one pair of shoes.

I don’t think young people feel the cold as much as older folk. I didn’t however, I think the rule about the school not having lockers should be addressed.

Primrose53

Kids around here are the same but they are teenagers and I guess they don’t think they look cool.

What I don’t understand is how parents can take tiny babies and toddlers out in hardly any clothes. I’ve seen tiny babies with no hats, no gloves and just a little cardigan and socks while the parents are wearing great big puffa coats and furry parkas!

We have had icy cold winds here the last few days and seeing little cold fingers and ears sticking out makes me shiver. Teenagers have a choice but babies don’t.

I once questioned this, I knew the baby's mother quite well.
I was told to mind my own business, as she liked to show her baby off outside!
Her poor baby had no say in the matter.

I was once staying overnight in Newcastle with my late husband. It was late December and snowing. Girl waiting at a bus stop had a short skirt and sleeveless top on! They must have thermal skin in the NE. Mind you, late husband happily wore shorts in the winter and said sleeping in a dormitory at boarding school toughened him up!

Kids at school only have a small locker, the coat’s won’t fit in so they would have to cart it around all day along with all their other stuff, just a question of logistics.
Coat pegs went out many years ago there were too many thefts.
My girls used to just wear a fleece then tie it around their waists in school.

Chestnut

I agree that lockers are absolutely essential for secondary schools and parents should do everything possible to make the school provide them. There are so many things children need, it's just not right to make them carry everything around. If things are stolen then the school needs to find a way to deal with this and prevent it happening, but lockers would at least ensure the items are not available to steal.

Lockers take up corridor space. Pupils accessing lockers take up even more corridor space. Imagine the amount if corridor space that 1000+ lockers would require.
I started teaching secondary ago, and I'm fairly certain I've never taught in a school with cloakroom with pegs. Only very old (pre-WW2?) school buildings had cloakrooms imo.

When I was at school (40-odd years ago), we didn't have lockers or cloakrooms either. We also had to carry everything around with us all day, the only difference was that we had half a dozen heavy textbooks instead of a laptop or tablet, so we were carrying more weight than the kids do now.
As for coats, I'd say it's a case of personal choice/laziness to not bother with a coat in this weather, back in our day, we wouldn't be caught dead without a coat when it was this cold!

It isn't cool to wear a coat. However, you'll be pleased to know that school blazers and trousers are often coated to keep the rain out!

As my grandmother always used to say 'Where there's no sense there's no feeling'

There’s nowhere to put coats at my daughter’s school. We always struggle to find her a suitable coat for outside of school as it is. And she’d struggle having to deal with a coat over the top of her already uncomfortable and restrictive uniform due to her own peculiar needs. Fortunately it’s only five minutes to the stop for the school bus. So she doesn’t get cold and I walk with her and can take her brolly home if she’s needed to take that.