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Tracksuits To Become Standard School Uniform?

(244 Posts)
mae13 Mon 09-Feb-26 12:16:01

So - parents have been consulted and have given the 'Thumbs Up' for their offspring to attend school looking like Chavs?

Talk about dumbing down!

I attended a convent school and the uniform rules were fiercely imposed. God help any girl who didn't knot their tie correctly or was caught turning their skirt over at the waistband to make it shorter.

Wonderful discipline!

butterandjam Mon 09-Feb-26 17:03:17

mae13

So - parents have been consulted and have given the 'Thumbs Up' for their offspring to attend school looking like Chavs?

Talk about dumbing down!

I attended a convent school and the uniform rules were fiercely imposed. God help any girl who didn't knot their tie correctly or was caught turning their skirt over at the waistband to make it shorter.

Wonderful discipline!

But weak on social education and good manners.

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:51:29

Polo shirts?

Ties are unnecessary.

Michael12 Mon 09-Feb-26 16:49:44

When I was at school the uniform was the jacket , tie and also a cap in my case this was before comprehensive schooling .
I notice from photos my nieces two daughters in Canada have a very relaxed normal cloths dressing with any identity as to which school they represent .
Mick

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:49:14

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.

M0nica Mon 09-Feb-26 16:48:39

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.

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:46:36

petra

Scrub the above🤦🏼‍♀️ I meant not allowed to wear skirts 😂

Oh!

Sorry, rtwt first 😁

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:45:24

petra

Hunros

Near to where I live there is a primary school where the uniform is a maroon track suit. The children look fine and it is obviously the uniform for the school.
The children are very well behaved and certainly not chavs.
I imagine it is easier for the parents to keep clean.

With regard to the girls turning the waistband, over my granddaughter's school had the answer - the school badge was on the waistband and had to be displayed.

Girls arnt allowed to wear trousers at my granddaughter’s school. Saves a lot of arguments 😉

My DD fought for the right for girls to wear trousers - and won!
Equality.
Now my DGD has to wear trousers.
How things change.

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:43:29

lidl thanks autocorrect!
Lisle

Allira Mon 09-Feb-26 16:42:56

mae13

So - parents have been consulted and have given the 'Thumbs Up' for their offspring to attend school looking like Chavs?

Talk about dumbing down!

I attended a convent school and the uniform rules were fiercely imposed. God help any girl who didn't knot their tie correctly or was caught turning their skirt over at the waistband to make it shorter.

Wonderful discipline!

Well, lucky you to have a skirt.

We had to wear ghastly gymslips, not a great look for teenage girls. The full kit and caboodle, blazers, hats, gaberdine macs, lidl stockings and laceup shoes.

Thank goodness times have changed and more relaxed uniforms are the norm.
Why do children have to wear ties? How many women teachers wear ties?

Caleo Mon 09-Feb-26 16:31:02

Blazers are expensive, and unhygienic as the sleeves can't be pushed up to wash the hands properly. A good wool blazer cant be washed.

Doodledog Mon 09-Feb-26 16:27:52

I agree. They are unisex, so girls don't have to wear what is basically men's office wear, they are comfortable, washable and cheap. They can also be bought with growing room in the leg, unlike skirts which get shorter as girls grow taller.

I fail to understand how wearing sensible clothing can possibly be seen as 'dumbing down'. My children wore them in primary school (5-9 years) with a school sweatshirt as the top half and black pull-on trousers on the bottom. They looked smart and were easy for little ones to get on and off for loo breaks, PE etc, so easier for teachers, too.

Norah Mon 09-Feb-26 16:20:43

Good idea.

I disliked uniforms, track suits seem acceptable and practicle.

ViceVersa Mon 09-Feb-26 15:59:48

I don't actually have a problem with this, to be honest. Most of the schools round here have sweatshirts and polo shirts with the school logo on it anyway and many of the pupils wear tracksuit-type bottoms with them. They're practical and comfortable.

Flippinheck Mon 09-Feb-26 15:57:17

Good idea. Some of the girls at my local high school clearly have no idea what they are exposing to general view.
My g’dtrs wore scorts to protect their modesty, and they looked no different to ordinary skirts.

LOUISA1523 Mon 09-Feb-26 15:49:12

mae13

So - parents have been consulted and have given the 'Thumbs Up' for their offspring to attend school looking like Chavs?

Talk about dumbing down!

I attended a convent school and the uniform rules were fiercely imposed. God help any girl who didn't knot their tie correctly or was caught turning their skirt over at the waistband to make it shorter.

Wonderful discipline!

Rage bait post 🙄

Chestnut Mon 09-Feb-26 15:26:30

fancyflowers - you and I are on the same page. None of my family had a problem wearing uniform, although I'd like to see girls wearing trousers and not skirts. They are just too short when pulled up.

I like to see a uniform, all the uniformed services look smart and professional. And that's the kind of feeling you want the children to have in school. If you're dressed smartly it makes you feel motivated. In every other field we consider clothes are important because they represent who we are. But we are happy to throw our children into sloppy tracksuits which can only teach them that clothes don't matter, just spend your life in a tracksuit.

fancyflowers Mon 09-Feb-26 15:03:09

Chestnut

There's an article here, and if you scroll down the poll result was 58% in favour.
www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cly5nkxy53no
There is no hope. Standards are dropping everywhere.

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

I wore a school uniform in secondary school, and my grandchildren wore uniforms at both primary and secondary.

They all look smart, and none of them have complained about the uniform being uncomfortable.

For those stating that many adults don't have to wear uniforms, this is disputable. Police, nurses, paramedics all wear uniforms, and many careers involve men looking smart in a suit, and women adhering to a suitable dress code.

Cumbrianmale56 Mon 09-Feb-26 14:30:58

I don't advocate school caps and blazers as these are an unecessary expense and old fashioned, but what is wrong with a school jumper, shirt, dark pants( for both genders) and shoes. Tracksuits are sportswear to me, not school uniform. Also a lot of them are ugly, branded things that belong on a sports field and the sooner this fashion dies out, the better. Ditto baseball caps and hoodies, they look even worse.

Maremia Mon 09-Feb-26 14:08:16

Less expensive, easy to launder, easy to wear, gender neutral, un-sexy...could work.

petra Mon 09-Feb-26 14:02:42

Scrub the above🤦🏼‍♀️ I meant not allowed to wear skirts 😂

petra Mon 09-Feb-26 14:00:33

Hunros

Near to where I live there is a primary school where the uniform is a maroon track suit. The children look fine and it is obviously the uniform for the school.
The children are very well behaved and certainly not chavs.
I imagine it is easier for the parents to keep clean.

With regard to the girls turning the waistband, over my granddaughter's school had the answer - the school badge was on the waistband and had to be displayed.

Girls arnt allowed to wear trousers at my granddaughter’s school. Saves a lot of arguments 😉

Bridie22 Mon 09-Feb-26 13:57:42

Track suits are practical and comfortable alternative, however, im personally annoyed that it is the girls that always have to change their apparell.
I hear culottes suggested which maybe a compromise.

M0nica Mon 09-Feb-26 13:54:24

mae13

So - parents have been consulted and have given the 'Thumbs Up' for their offspring to attend school looking like Chavs?

Talk about dumbing down!

I attended a convent school and the uniform rules were fiercely imposed. God help any girl who didn't knot their tie correctly or was caught turning their skirt over at the waistband to make it shorter.

Wonderful discipline!

Well you may have considered your convent's stringent rules 'Wonderful Discipline', in the same situation I saw it as an open invitation to play the game - obeying rules in their letter rather than in their spirit, taking them to the point of absurdity. I, my sister and several friends had a whale of a time.

It was an education in how to be subversive and how to subvent the rules. That both I, my DS and school best friend have put to admirable use in our adult life. My school best friend became a judge and on her way up, at one training meeting, a very senior legal eagle described her approvingly as 'deeply subversive'

Ithink wearing track suits is an excellent idea. Why are they chavvy and dumbing down?

Once upon a time women in trousers or short skirts (to their ankles) were considered to be fast and of dodgy morals. Are you going to return to long skirts.

All children regardless of sex in the same uniform. One they ae comfortable in, brilliant.

Ilovecheese Mon 09-Feb-26 13:52:53

Very sensible idea. The more children can be encouraged to move freely the better, and comfortable clothing helps. Girls wearing ties just looks ridiculous.

Granmarderby10 Mon 09-Feb-26 13:51:38

Yep bit like the Royal family, uniforms are on their way out.