School trip dress code...wtf?!

Phil_aka_Pip

Fretwired said:

School uniforms are good - they prevent competition between kids for the latest designer gear. My local school has a sensible policy - most of the girls wear grey trousers, sensible shoes, a white shirt and a green sweatshirt with the school logo although they can wear a skirt if they want to. The boys can wear the same although I've noted the blazer is back in fashion for both girls and boys. Can't see what all the fuss is about.

There was a documentary on TV about schools without a uniform policy which highlighted parents who spent over £1K a month on designer clothes for their kids. They went to school in this gear and bullied kids from poorer families. School uniform prevents that from happening.

I disagree. I refer you to my earlier post which said that despite a strict uniform code, you could always tell which kids' parents had money, and which ones didn't.

Fretwired

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Fretwired said:

School uniforms are good - they prevent competition between kids for the latest designer gear. My local school has a sensible policy - most of the girls wear grey trousers, sensible shoes, a white shirt and a green sweatshirt with the school logo although they can wear a skirt if they want to. The boys can wear the same although I've noted the blazer is back in fashion for both girls and boys. Can't see what all the fuss is about.

There was a documentary on TV about schools without a uniform policy which highlighted parents who spent over £1K a month on designer clothes for their kids. They went to school in this gear and bullied kids from poorer families. School uniform prevents that from happening.

I disagree. I refer you to my earlier post which said that despite a strict uniform code, you could always tell which kids' parents had money, and which ones didn't.

Not any more. My local school uniform can be bought from the school or major local supermarkets. It's low cost and all the kids look the same. All the state schools in my area wear the same uniform - grey trousers (option of skirt for girls but most wear trousers), white shirt and sweatshirt. Most of the senior schools having the same colour sweatshirt so in town you don't know which school someone is from unless you are up close and see the logo. However you can buy sweatshirts without a logo. In the summer everyone wears a polo shirt. Simple.

My niece is a local school teacher and she says a tightening of the rules where she works has seen a fall in 'brand-based bullying' which happened when she was at school in the 1990s (she actually teaches at the school she went to as a teenager). She is in favour of a sensible/practical school uniform.

I preferred it in my day as my parents weren't rich, so they couldn't afford to buy me expensive clothes, and I didn't have to think what I was going to wear.

Phil_aka_Pip

@Fretwired ; that makes a lot more sense than the regalia we had to wear

Fretwired

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Fretwired ; that makes a lot more sense than the regalia we had to wear

I was probably the same as you with the shirt, tie, jumper and blazer.

Ties have gone (never saw the point for school) these days although blazers/jackets have made a comeback for the 6th form - must be a fashion thing as I think 6th formers can wear pretty much what they like so long as its smart.

Legionreturns

Fretwired said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Fretwired ; that makes a lot more sense than the regalia we had to wear

I was probably the same as you with the shirt, tie, jumper and blazer.

Ties have gone (never saw the point for school) these days although blazers/jackets have made a comeback for the 6th form - must be a fashion thing as I think 6th formers can wear pretty much what they like so long as its smart.

My daughter has to wear a tie, blazer, tights and a pleated skirt 4cm below the knee. Ffs 

Fretwired

Legionreturns said:

Fretwired said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Fretwired ; that makes a lot more sense than the regalia we had to wear

I was probably the same as you with the shirt, tie, jumper and blazer.

Ties have gone (never saw the point for school) these days although blazers/jackets have made a comeback for the 6th form - must be a fashion thing as I think 6th formers can wear pretty much what they like so long as its smart.

My daughter has to wear a tie, blazer, tights and a pleated skirt 4cm below the knee. Ffs 

OK. I think that's a bit much to be honest. My local area is very middle class with a lot of well-off parents. However the state secondary school, which is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, has opted for what I think is a modern and practical uniform.

Is your daughter's school a state comprehensive?

WezV

Doesn’t really matter what sort of school it is, they set their own policies on uniform.

I’m in favour of a uniform as long as it’s sensible and affordable.  When I was working in schools the blazers cost £60 a pop and were regularly lost or damaged.   

Dopesick

I left school in 2001 and stopped wearing uniform two years before that. Even in the days of being a moany teenager (speaking collectively rather than just myself) not one kid had a problem with wearing it. Of course there was a bit of fuss when it got hot and some kids took off their ties but other than that it was easy going. All the uniform could be bought from the same place at a very reasonable price.

School uniform simply worked because it presented every kid in the school on a level platform - you couldn't tell which ones hated sports or liked rap or enjoyed reading the bible etc. Each kid has to judge one another by their behaviour and the way they interacted rather than first visual impressions. If anything, the kids who treated their school uniform like a dish rag were the ones who were treated like shit. Rips in the sides, ketchup stains on the cuffs, fountain pen on the shirt...sort it out you dirty little bastards.

As for these 'rules', they look okay to me. You could summarise that letter and say 'don't dress like a dick'.