I went to school in Wales, and I know the costs of the school uniform were a constant worry for my parents.
My wife referred to British school kids as Harry Potter kids, and she’s not far off in that it sucked to struggle to afford the assigned school supplies and attire, as it was for the Weasleys.
Branded uniforms were always a scam as kids grow so fast through clothing sizes. Don’t care if it’s some posho tradition from hundreds of years ago, it’s lame.
All I got out of it was starting out in massively oversized clothing that became too small.
Thing is 15 years ago, when I was in secondary school, uniform was black or navy smart trousers, white or grey shirt, grey jumper, black or brown shoes and a school tie.
You could get the official overpriced one with the school uniform from the local uniform shop pr you could go Asda, M&S or literally anywhere.
The only official school item you had to have was the school tie which was £7, everything else you could get from anywhere
The only reason they changed it was to make more money
[deleted]
Is this anything to do with the rise in academies or completely unrelated?
My son is about to start secondary school at an academy. You can tell it’s a school run to make profit by the fact they have the logo on the blazer, on the wooly waistcoat (which must be worn at all times), the p.e clothes and P.E bag all have to be branded too. Madness.
Yeah I’ve just spent a small fortune on uniforms for my 2 primary school kids. Almost everything is branded including PE kits…when I was at primary school we didn’t wear uniforms at all. Worst thing is they seem to choose the most horrible materials for uniform – itchy acrylic jumpers, shit fitting PE shorts…and ties. Why do young children need to wear fucking ties?!
I’ve always thought that staff should also wear a uniform. The best way to lead is by example
What could a school actually do if a large % of the parents/students just….. didn’t do the uniform thing? Put the whole school in detention?
If you must have a uniform its needs to be simple, plain, easily sourced and maybe even, free?
Any job that is a uniformed job normally provides the uniform. Boarder force, police, armed forces, fire brigade etc etc. If you want the kids to dress a certain way, provide the uniform yourself otherwise it’s just a barrier to entry/access.
And that goes for sports kit to. It annoys the crap out if me that most school pe/sports kits are woefully poor and dont give the young people the protection and support they require.
Just do away with uniforms. Or in this cost of living crisis, just accept that parents have better things to spend thier money on.
I like the idea of uniform because it makes it easier to get a 12 year old out of the door in the morning if they don’t need to make a decision about clothes. The cost is ridiculous though.
At my daughters school the skirt alone is £37, even the shirts are slightly strange style so you have to get them from a specialist uniform shop. They get round the affordability rule by offering second hand uniform for sale. It would be better if they just allowed any navy skirt or trousers, jumper and a white shirt or similar. If you can’t get the uniform from the supermarket if you have to then it shouldn’t be on the uniform list in my opinion.
At my school we had to buy the official school suit (until 6th form, then you could chose what brand of suit to wear). Cost like 400 quid and was dry-clean only, which adds up when you’re growing between the ages of 13-17
Whilst the parents do pass uniforms around. The school should also offer to take used uniforms for distribution, not just for the poor but for sustainability. Most of my children’s uniform was worn out but afew things could have been reused particularly PE kits, the odd jumper, blazer.
>English schools ‘break law’ by making parents buy branded uniform
That is what uniform is!
The problem is the price.
This headline is completely inaccurate.
1. There is no law to break. The article itself refers to ‘the spirit of the law’. What this actually refers to is guidance, which has no legal power.
2. The guidance does not prohibit branded uniforms. It requires ‘*schools should keep branded items to a minimum and limit their use to low cost or long-lasting items. Schools should carefully consider whether requiring a branded item is the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired result for their uniform.*’
Left secondary 11 years ago and it was always like this. No one gave a shit. In the same way no one gave a shit they illegally kicked out students for academic performance, until it became a national scandal. Grammar turned academy btw
17 comments
Time to ban branded uniforms.
[removed]
I went to school in Wales, and I know the costs of the school uniform were a constant worry for my parents.
My wife referred to British school kids as Harry Potter kids, and she’s not far off in that it sucked to struggle to afford the assigned school supplies and attire, as it was for the Weasleys.
Branded uniforms were always a scam as kids grow so fast through clothing sizes. Don’t care if it’s some posho tradition from hundreds of years ago, it’s lame.
All I got out of it was starting out in massively oversized clothing that became too small.
Thing is 15 years ago, when I was in secondary school, uniform was black or navy smart trousers, white or grey shirt, grey jumper, black or brown shoes and a school tie.
You could get the official overpriced one with the school uniform from the local uniform shop pr you could go Asda, M&S or literally anywhere.
The only official school item you had to have was the school tie which was £7, everything else you could get from anywhere
The only reason they changed it was to make more money
[deleted]
Is this anything to do with the rise in academies or completely unrelated?
My son is about to start secondary school at an academy. You can tell it’s a school run to make profit by the fact they have the logo on the blazer, on the wooly waistcoat (which must be worn at all times), the p.e clothes and P.E bag all have to be branded too. Madness.
Yeah I’ve just spent a small fortune on uniforms for my 2 primary school kids. Almost everything is branded including PE kits…when I was at primary school we didn’t wear uniforms at all. Worst thing is they seem to choose the most horrible materials for uniform – itchy acrylic jumpers, shit fitting PE shorts…and ties. Why do young children need to wear fucking ties?!
I’ve always thought that staff should also wear a uniform. The best way to lead is by example
What could a school actually do if a large % of the parents/students just….. didn’t do the uniform thing? Put the whole school in detention?
If you must have a uniform its needs to be simple, plain, easily sourced and maybe even, free?
Any job that is a uniformed job normally provides the uniform. Boarder force, police, armed forces, fire brigade etc etc. If you want the kids to dress a certain way, provide the uniform yourself otherwise it’s just a barrier to entry/access.
And that goes for sports kit to. It annoys the crap out if me that most school pe/sports kits are woefully poor and dont give the young people the protection and support they require.
Just do away with uniforms. Or in this cost of living crisis, just accept that parents have better things to spend thier money on.
I like the idea of uniform because it makes it easier to get a 12 year old out of the door in the morning if they don’t need to make a decision about clothes. The cost is ridiculous though.
At my daughters school the skirt alone is £37, even the shirts are slightly strange style so you have to get them from a specialist uniform shop. They get round the affordability rule by offering second hand uniform for sale. It would be better if they just allowed any navy skirt or trousers, jumper and a white shirt or similar. If you can’t get the uniform from the supermarket if you have to then it shouldn’t be on the uniform list in my opinion.
At my school we had to buy the official school suit (until 6th form, then you could chose what brand of suit to wear). Cost like 400 quid and was dry-clean only, which adds up when you’re growing between the ages of 13-17
Whilst the parents do pass uniforms around. The school should also offer to take used uniforms for distribution, not just for the poor but for sustainability. Most of my children’s uniform was worn out but afew things could have been reused particularly PE kits, the odd jumper, blazer.
>English schools ‘break law’ by making parents buy branded uniform
That is what uniform is!
The problem is the price.
This headline is completely inaccurate.
1. There is no law to break. The article itself refers to ‘the spirit of the law’. What this actually refers to is guidance, which has no legal power.
2. The guidance does not prohibit branded uniforms. It requires ‘*schools should keep branded items to a minimum and limit their use to low cost or long-lasting items. Schools should carefully consider whether requiring a branded item is the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired result for their uniform.*’
Left secondary 11 years ago and it was always like this. No one gave a shit. In the same way no one gave a shit they illegally kicked out students for academic performance, until it became a national scandal. Grammar turned academy btw