Tracksuits To Become Standard School Uniform?

MrsMatt

One of the benefits of a uniform is that all the children/young people look the same. There are no 'designer brand' uniforms. Allowing track suits to be worn is fine, as long as there are certain rules in place. e.g. Designer brands, Adidas, Nike or whatever is the current brand popular at the time should not be allowed.

Gdcs’ school doesn’t allow any brand names. The black PE shorts I bought for elder Gdd recently had to be brand-less.

Mollygo

The je ne sais quoi is added to UK school uniforms by the pupils wearing them.

And how I loved adding them!!

😂 😂
I guess you could say they're being creative!
Full marks for that!

The je ne sais quoi is added to UK school uniforms by the pupils wearing them.

Lahlah65

MartavTaurus

I've blown hot and cold on this one for many years.

When I was Headmistress, woe betide any girls who didn't wear their kilts properly, lengthwise!
Now, in the 21st century, provided the tracksuits are school branded, and every one has the same, I think it's a good idea.

Teaching abroad for a while, where pupils don't have school uniforms at all, I can't say I noticed any deterioration in behaviour or discipline.

I am delighted to hear someone with practical experience of this. I really don’t understand why we are so obsessed with school uniform in the UK, unlike our close neighbours in Europe and even in the US. They seem to have overcome all of the problems that British schools claim will arise if there is no school uniform.

Thank you,Lahlah65.
Yes, the country to which I was referring is France, (the home of fashion no less!). It was only two years ago that Brigitte Macron was backing Marine Le Pen's idea to introduce school uniforms in French schools. I think Brigitte said something along the lines of the uniform should be simple, but not drab, in other words, have that certain je ne sais quoi! I wonder what British uniform designers would make of that?!

Once the uniform is tracksuits, parents and pupils will complain about those too.
Too hot, not warm enough, too tight, too loose, etc. etc.

I think it's a wonderful idea, keeping males and females warm particularly in bad weather; times change. However, my children used to love going to school in tracksuits. Uniforms are boring and uncomfortable, and out of date, and used to be used as a form of control in schools. Those days are gone.

Mollygo

theworriedwell
If you've got 2000 children moving round the school with a short time between lessons then keeping left is probably very useful. There were only about 700 at my school back in the 60s but it still helped particularly on the stairs.

Likewise at our school. There were 9 forms in each year group from Y7 to Y11, though fewer forms in A level classes. My school was a mass of long corridors and flights of stairs. Keeping left was essential. (Helped with driving too. 😄)

I'm trying to picture the chaos if they weren't keeping left in the school or on the road. Of course keeping right would work equally well in the right location.

theworriedwell
If you've got 2000 children moving round the school with a short time between lessons then keeping left is probably very useful. There were only about 700 at my school back in the 60s but it still helped particularly on the stairs.

Likewise at our school. There were 9 forms in each year group from Y7 to Y11, though fewer forms in A level classes. My school was a mass of long corridors and flights of stairs. Keeping left was essential. (Helped with driving too. 😄)

Granmarderby10

I’m sure everyone on Gransnet will agree that keeping left is a invaluable life skill 🙄
(sarcasm)

It is for anyone who drives in the UK. Maybe not so valuable on the continent though.😄

Granmarderby10

Personally the only difficulty I had with going to the toilet in infants school was because the toilets were outside and across the other side of the playground, and the teachers used to make pupils wait.
I don’t recall my clothing affecting me to that extent because like most children we were well trained in dealing with our bodily functions at an early age.

I think school uniforms are there to reflect whatever current ethos a particular school holds dear. It can turn on a sixpence

One of my grandkids school gives out detentions for mislaying their schools’ (clip-on) tie….but then they also get “punished” for not keeping to the left on corridors!

I’m sure everyone on Gransnet will agree that keeping left is a invaluable life skill 🙄(sarcasm)

Anything with shirts and ties, wool blazers, even some caps and hats oh and pleated skirts! Just get rid.

They add nothing to the value of education imo and are used as a proxy for providing a good all round education.

I’ll admit that they do look impressive on school photos but that’s all.

If you've got 2000 children moving round the school with a short time between lessons then keeping left is probably very useful. There were only about 700 at my school back in the 60s but it still helped particularly on the stairs.

I would not disagree with you on that, Allira.

ViceVersa

Allira

ViceVersa

That's an appalling comment. I honestly thought we'd moved on from the mentality that women and girls deserved unwanted attention - or worse - just because of what they were wearing.

We may have.

Not all men and boys have, unfortunately.

And yet that's still not the fault of women and girls - yet we are the ones who always have to adjust and alter our behaviour to accommodate the failings of the male of the species.

Point taken but it's a fact.

These websites need to be shut down. Boys need to be educated and have better role models.

Personally the only difficulty I had with going to the toilet in infants school was because the toilets were outside and across the other side of the playground, and the teachers used to make pupils wait.
I don’t recall my clothing affecting me to that extent because like most children we were well trained in dealing with our bodily functions at an early age.

I think school uniforms are there to reflect whatever current ethos a particular school holds dear. It can turn on a sixpence

One of my grandkids school gives out detentions for mislaying their schools’ (clip-on) tie….but then they also get “punished” for not keeping to the left on corridors!

I’m sure everyone on Gransnet will agree that keeping left is a invaluable life skill 🙄(sarcasm)

Anything with shirts and ties, wool blazers, even some caps and hats oh and pleated skirts! Just get rid.

They add nothing to the value of education imo and are used as a proxy for providing a good all round education.

I’ll admit that they do look impressive on school photos but that’s all.

Allira

ViceVersa

That's an appalling comment. I honestly thought we'd moved on from the mentality that women and girls deserved unwanted attention - or worse - just because of what they were wearing.

We may have.

Not all men and boys have, unfortunately.

And yet that's still not the fault of women and girls - yet we are the ones who always have to adjust and alter our behaviour to accommodate the failings of the male of the species.

Mollygo

One problem we came across was that sweatshirts and tracksuits faded with washing, more quickly than jumpers and skirts/trousers, especially with the cheaper brands. e.g. Asda red, Sainsbury’s green.

Everyone wants tracksuits to be a cheap option for parents, but cheap tracksuits are going to turn into a baggy shapeless mess very quickly. As I said, will girls want to be slouching around in baggy old tracksuit trousers looking like a sack of potatoes?

Much better to have them all wearing black trousers in a material which will hold its shape.

ViceVersa

That's an appalling comment. I honestly thought we'd moved on from the mentality that women and girls deserved unwanted attention - or worse - just because of what they were wearing.

We may have.

Not all men and boys have, unfortunately.

Oreo

ViceVersa

That's an appalling comment. I honestly thought we'd moved on from the mentality that women and girls deserved unwanted attention - or worse - just because of what they were wearing.

It doesn’t matter if they deserve unwanted attention or not, they’ll get it dressed in a certain way, won’t they?.
Who says it’s unwanted attention anyway?

That is precisely why some schools have banned skirts for girls. They all wear trousers.

Upskirting.

There are some vile online influencers which teenage boys are following, sadly.

Oreo Am amazed that schools can't even lay down the law as regards their own uniform rules

I can't generalise about all schools but at the place one of my DCs teaches, the staff fight a non-ending battle against the girls rolling up their skirts. It doesn't help that the stupid, mock tartan pleated skirts are easily converted into a tuchy little frill.

The decision to adopt this unflattering garment as part of the uniform, which is a symphony in man made fabrics parodying a public school uniform, was in no way influenced by the teaching staff.

fancyflowers

Which school is this? Can you give a source, please?

It was all over the media so would be quite easy to find.

Girls have rolled their skirts (even mini skirts) over as long as I can remember. Certainly since my schooldays.
Could boys manage to control themselves back then, where they can’t now?

No it isn't the same thing at all ViceVersa so don’t try and skew things.
Nobody thinks that boys at school will be raping the girls for wearing the skirts just below the pants but it’s a huge distraction for teenage boys with much potential for physical embarrassment as they can’t control their bodies.
Am amazed that schools can’t even lay down the law as regards their own uniform rules and wonder if they’re afraid of pupils and parents.Uniform doesn’t have to be draconian just sensible.

Maybe try to educate the boys that a girl isn't 'asking for it' because of what she is wearing? It's exactly the same as claiming that a woman deserves to be raped if she's walking down the street late at night in a skimpy dress. I genuinely can't believe some people are still clinging to that attitude in 2026.

ViceVersa

That's an appalling comment. I honestly thought we'd moved on from the mentality that women and girls deserved unwanted attention - or worse - just because of what they were wearing.

It doesn’t matter if they deserve unwanted attention or not, they’ll get it dressed in a certain way, won’t they?.
Who says it’s unwanted attention anyway?

If skirts end just below the pants why else are girls doing it if not for male attention?
These aren’t just the mini skirts of yesterday btw.
.Not all girls I will add wear them but a substantial number of them do.
Anyone who trots out the old ‘never acceptable to blame a girl for what she wears’ lives in another world.
How boys manage to concentrate in class is beyond me.
So tracksuits for all would solve lots of problems.
I don’t suppose all schools will do this, some already have strict uniform rules of their own.