Tracksuits To Become Standard School Uniform?

Do you remember gymslips ?
We always wore them .
I watched The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and thought of them for the first time for years .
I googled gymslips .They are still available in adult sizes for £100 upwards and not ,perhaps intended for school !

Allira

^I agree that standards are dropping. Many of the comments have spelling and/or grammar errors.^

Yes, mine. Lid stockings 😁

Actually, I think plain trousers, blouse or open necked shirt with a V necked school jumper would be a good compromise.
No need for ties.

I wasn't meaning yours, Allira. I was referring to the comments on the article.

Tracksuits as school uniform. No. They would work out more expensive,not wear as long as traditional school uniform and will not look smart at all. At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less they we paid when our children had school uniform from primary school. We brought our children 5 of each bit of school uniform for primary school apart from the tie. Highschool had 5 of everything apart from tie and blazer . Always Clarks shoes . Long term wear of trainers on growing feet will cause them problems as they get older . Plus the price of trainers they are not water proof and would be harder to clean .

I suppose it's some idiots idea who hasn't got children . Or was born with a silver spoon in their mouth . Where money is no object.🤬

What on earth is happening to this country.

I don’t think trackiedaks look good at all. You wear them for gardening or for sport, ugly.

M0nica

It is wonderful how somethings never change. There will always be older people who consider any change they do not approve of as 'letting standards slip', 'dumbing down' or whatever.

I wa one of the 1960s generation as are a a number of the complainers, I think. Oh, how the older generation used to complain about ue, society going to hell in a hand basket etc etc. Did they let the 60s pass them by, only wear below the knee skirts? Never go to a pop concert and scream? never have a father who said 'you are not going out dressed like that'

Given the circumstances, we haven't turned out too bad and the modern things they are complaining about are trivial compared with ours and their(?) excesses.

So true.

Wool blazers were horrible and were frequently unhygienic as not washable and no fast drycleaners back then (well not where I lived) so only done in the holidays.

Uniforms have changed, when my husband joined the police in the sixties he wore a cape, woollen tunic, shirts with removable collars that you needed collar studs for. I'm sure young police officers would laugh at them now. Nurses uniforms are also very different. No reason we can't have practical comfortable uniforms.

nanna8

I don’t think trackiedaks look good at all. You wear them for gardening or for sport, ugly.

No idea what trackiedaks are. Some modern word we didn't have back in the day?

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202602/medium-ac57tn-2-pack-unisex-school-joggers-2-16-yrs-.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202602/medium-436h4r-2-pack-unisex-school-joggers-2-16-yrs--1.jpeg

At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less
And also school tracksuit bottoms in Marks for £14 - £20 a pair depending on size. I don't consider that expensive. They come in 3 different colours.

MartavTaurus

^At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less^
And also school tracksuit bottoms in Marks for £14 - £20 a pair depending on size. I don't consider that expensive. They come in 3 different colours.

£14 - £20 for kids tracksuit bottoms?! That’s IS expensive, particularly when they’d need more than one pair and had siblings needing them too! Get real MartavTaurus!

MartavTaurus

^At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less^
And also school tracksuit bottoms in Marks for £14 - £20 a pair depending on size. I don't consider that expensive. They come in 3 different colours.

Not all schools accept supermarket uniforms. Our local grammar school as an example insist on a specific white blouse, open neck, three quarter sleeves. You can buy six white king sleeve blouses from a supermarket for the price of one of these blouses. Then there are logos on most other things.

Long sleeve not king sleeve.

I have looked at this from many angles, as a girl at grammar school, having to wear skirts and their very expensive blazer in the summer, That was a great expense and hardly got worn, the skirt rule meaning that you froze in the winter time, and cold legs did not help you to concentrate on your work. As a parent of a child that grew very quickly and having a set uniform , meant a lot of expense, as nothing was worn out but grown out of very quickly and these set uniforms never had the kinds of hems that you would put on yourself.
As a teacher , being expected to police the uniform rule, when quite often I had every sympathy with the children having to wear something that would be too warm or too cold, and was something that was just a distraction from learning. Clothes also might be meant to make children look the same, but it would be clear to see who had new clothes and whose were hand me downs etc.

My youngest sisters school had the best idea, which both worked and was simple. The children had to wear white shirts, no tie, and grey trousers, or skirts, and jumpers. So all the school were wearing the correct colour and then there was a badge that could be sown onto the jumper or whatever. That way meant that a child could wear whatever was comfortable and suitable for that days lessons. The colour meant that the clothes were easily available at large stores, orcould be hand made etc. It worked well, cost less, and of course, did not become a way to show rebellion , just your own choice to be comfortable doing your work.

If school governers were made to wear skirts with ankle sox and shoes in the middle of a cold winter for a week, they would quickly come to their senses and at the very least these days allow tights or leggings. To have children concentrating on their lesson, rather than thinking about being too hot or too cold , is more important than clothes.

Astitchintime

MartavTaurus

At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less
And also school tracksuit bottoms in Marks for £14 - £20 a pair depending on size. I don't consider that expensive. They come in 3 different colours.

£14 - £20 for kids tracksuit bottoms?! That’s IS expensive, particularly when they’d need more than one pair and had siblings needing them too! Get real MartavTaurus!

Did you read a pair? That's £7 each. The price of M & S trousers are exactly that too, so no difference. I expect the likes of Asda are even cheaper.

By the way, I am very real thank you, so keep your shirt on, or your hoodie on!

theworriedwell

MartavTaurus

At the moment parents can get shirts , trousers,skirts etc from supermarkets at lot less
And also school tracksuit bottoms in Marks for £14 - £20 a pair depending on size. I don't consider that expensive. They come in 3 different colours.

Not all schools accept supermarket uniforms. Our local grammar school as an example insist on a specific white blouse, open neck, three quarter sleeves. You can buy six white king sleeve blouses from a supermarket for the price of one of these blouses. Then there are logos on most other things.

To be fair, I prefer to see a logo. It identifies a particular school, and in addition is supposed to create a sense of belonging to a community. As we know, the extra price is in the designing, print setting equipment and the small quantity being ordered. I'm not sure how that can be avoided. Unless we do as in France, and give means-tested grants to over 3 million families to purchase the clothes?

Asda school tracksuitbottoms start at £8 a pair!

Sarnia

When I collect my 13 year old GD from school later her skirt and those on most of the girls will be barely visible beneath her blazer. It's a school rule not to roll over the waistband but nobody seems to either obey or enforce it. During the colder months black tights lend a bit of false modesty but come the summer, nothing is left to the imagination. Imho, the girls look cheap and do not represent their school in a good light.
I have long wondered why trousers have not been introduced for the girls. I would prefer a pair of smart tailored black trousers to a track suit. It must be hard enough having 2000 hormonal teenagers under one roof. Tracksuits may make life easier.

I agree that the skirts are ridiculous, barely covering the arse!
In a school full of boys with raging hormones.
I haven’t ever worn a tracksuit but suppose it’s comfy if a bit of a sloppy look, and all will be the same.Too warm in Summer tho?

I would prefer a pair of smart tailored black trousers to a track suit

But even if they wear trousers, they might not be the ‘smart tailored type’.

I see many girls going to school in skin tight, skinny black jean-type trousers, I suppose in theory they meet the criteria…

theworriedwell

nanna8

I don’t think trackiedaks look good at all. You wear them for gardening or for sport, ugly.

No idea what trackiedaks are. Some modern word we didn't have back in the day?

Daks are another word for trousers ( Daks was a trouser make)

So trackiedaks is just a modern made up word? Wouldn't have been acceptable at my grammar school with a strict anti slang pro uniform policy.

How many logos do you need to feel you belong? Off the top of my head GS has logos on jumper, polo shirt, trousers, rain jacket, all PE stuff. Bit over the top. Girls also have them on skirts.

theworriedwell

So trackiedaks is just a modern made up word? Wouldn't have been acceptable at my grammar school with a strict anti slang pro uniform policy.

You forgot the laughing emoji 😂

Language is always changing and adding new words to the vocabulary, otherwise we would all still be speaking 4th century Anglo-Saxon.

AS I have pointed out. In the past, even now schools set pointless rules that best students honed their skills in getting round. These students were usually the ones that proved the most successful in later life.

Certainly no logos needed on bottom gear whatever the choices. No one is likely to walk round in their knickers or pants, (hopefully), other than changing for PE, so logos only need appear on jumpers, polos, sweatshirts.
Personally I found logos very useful on school trips too, especially when taking pupils abroad, as you can spot them more easily, (getting up to no good!).

Our high school had beret’s as essential, to be worn as we travelled to and from school. We folded them neatly to measure as little width as possible, then used hair grips to pin them on the back of our heads. Hair then back combed to cover as much of the beret as possible.
As other posters have pointed out, other countries don’t have the British devotion to school uniforms and their children’s behaviour isn’t affected.

I was always an advocate of a good smart school uniform, but at the end of the day, what they wear makes no difference to the way that learn and the cost of a blazer et al can be a burden for some parents. If this is less of a financial burden so much the better. I’m sure DGS would have hated having to wear a blazer and tie at secondary school. It was hard enough to persuade him to wear trousers and not shorts even in the winter. His school, one of the top ten secondary schools in the North of England, had a sweatshirt and polo uniform. In the sixth form you could wear what you liked.

Things change. Look at the armed services. Everyday working uniform for men and women now is camo battle dress or fatigues. I’m told it’s very comfortable, and it’s unifying. No skirts for women unless for formal occasions. What we would have given to be free of the strictures of the two piece uniform, shirt, detachable collars (a real pain) and tie! We all threw our hats in the air when shirts with collars were issued!

No idea where people get the notion that a tracksuit would be expensive. We're not talking about brand labels here - many schools don't allow those in any case. As someone else has pointed out, you can get tracksuit bottoms very cheaply in most supermarket clothing ranges.