General Chat

Looking at the prices people have paid this year it seems it does depend very much on what can be bought in the High Street stores and what has to be bought at a specialist shop on how much people have to pay

Mau made a valid point about children being singled out if they didn’t have the regulation garments, and certainly in my day a teacher would have ridiculed a pupil in front of his or her classmates

Some would say that uniforms are worn so that children are not made to feel out of place by those whose parents can afford to keep them immaculately dressed in the latest fashionable clothes. Others probably see it as the first introduction to learning how to conform to be acceptable. It does, hopefully, stop children going into school inappropriately dressed. I guess schools tread a fine line to keep the balance, at the end of the day though the children need to have some pride in their appearance, and I am not completely sure that making them wear an outdated uniform is the way to do it

Just remembered (wish I hadn't) one year when I had a shirtwaister summer dress - I felt soooo trendy.
Shirtwaisters rise when you lift your arms.
Mine was just above the knee.
This was when tights were very expensive, and mum wasn't going to buy them for a 13 year old, so I wore suspenders and stockings.
Stockings were 'shaped' for ladies legs - not for a short skinny schoolgirl,(about 4'9 and weighing less than 5 stone) and suspender belts didn't come in particularly small sizes either....

I cringe when I think about the sight that must have met people when I raised both my arms...
The suspenders, even at their shortest were lower than mid thigh, with a wodge of the too long stockings carelessly rolled and clipped unevenly in place.....
I was so relieved when 'midi's' came in.

maggie

Good morning all
My children wore school uniforms that could only be purchased from special outfitters,and every item was expensive then, in the 1970's.Glad though Dee that mine didn't have to wear gaberdine macs.

The middle schools colours,navy and grey,weren't too difficult to buy but in the high the school introduced purple skirts for the girls, and that caused us some trouble,because if ,for what ever reason, the outfitters didn't have daughter's size (length) in stock we had to find an alternative.
Well of course how many shades of purple are there?
My daughter was singled out and harassed because skirt was not the right shade! she had a few months to go till end of last term and I was summoned to the deputy's office and told to buy another, and made to feel about 2 inches high!

However school uniforms do look smart and show a belonging and I agree pupils shouln't wear jewelry.

I'm always amused when I'm walking past our local school on last day of term,when all the trees are adorned with school ties hanging from their branches.lol

Mau xx :O)

Dee,
I was at school at the time of the mini skirt too! We had a couple of sessions with the ruler determining the length of the skirt, but as the school became a 6th form college while I was there, and the uniform for 6th formers was phasd out they didn't really have a hope in hell of enforcing it!!

However, at my daughters school, I was summoned up there 2 years running. The first time to complain that my daughters skirt was too short - the next time for them to complain that it was too long (mid calf length)!! .....and they wondered why I had no respect for the head - even when I worked there!!

maggie

I've just bought the following stuff for my lad. I have got 5 sets of uniforms because he is such a mucky pup so he can have clean every day. Mostly stuff from Matalan, but the sweatshirts and the book bag have to have the school logo on so they are from a specialist shop.

Trousers 5 @ 3.50 £17.50
White polos 2xpacks of 3 @ £4.50 £9.00
Shoes £10.00
Socks 5prs for £2.50
Coat £8.00
PE Kit £7.00
PE Bag £3.50
Plimsolls £1.50

Sweatshirts 5 @ £8.00 £40.00
Book Bag £4.50

Total £103.50

I don't think this is too bad though as I remember my mum paying £75.00 in 1974 for my Grammar School uniform. She only got two skirts/blouses/jumpers for that price too, whereas I have got 5 of everything.

Dianne xx

Mine had to be bought from Henry Taylors in London, which was the only outfitter for my school and was expensive.
My 3 all went to a grammar school in Wales and although initially we went to the designated outfitter afterwards we bought standard black skirts and trousers. We HAD to buy the jumpers from the school. Although we bought school badges from the outfitters and sewed them on.

Uniforms were never cheap but I think always looked nice.

Sue

The schools my children go to have decided in their wisdom for the polo shirts, sweat shirts, and fleeces all to have logos on them and they are compulsory. They also are only available in two shops and dont come cheap.

The cheapest item was the polo shirts at £15

Even the sports kit has logos on them now.

I kitted my children out last weekend and it cos me nearly £250 and that wasnt including the stationry and bag which i had already bought.

We are lucky that Nathan has a good job but how people on low incomes manage i dont know and the school clothing grants dont cover the costs of there items.

btw Maggie, I smile when my son says Friday is 'dress down day' I often wonder if it wouldn't look more professional if they had 'dress up day'

;-)))

Pat, the last year we were allowed charcoal grey duffle coats, instead of the macs. I only wore mine a few times for school but have still got it, I wear it to walk the dog when we have snow

Maggie, you saying about the rules brought back memories. I was at school in the age of the mini skirt and we all hauled our skirts up and tucked them over at the top. On our way out of assembly we had to kneel in front of the deputy head. He had a ruler, and he checked how far our skirt hems were from the floor. Doubt they would get away with that these days

Dee
x

I hadn't heard that Kitty, but it is good ;-))

There was a song about a gabardine mac

Give me back my gabardine mac
It's no good to you
Here am I nearly 6' 5
And you're only 4' 2

xx

Dee
I remember my gabardine mac, I never did "grow into it"! It seemed indestructible at the time.
When did anyone last see a child in a gaberdine mac? Mine fell about laughing at the mere suggestion. Rain, snow or shine, bare heads & no coats was the order of the day.
Pat

I too went to a Grammar school.
Winter uniform for the first 2 years was a grey serge gymslip, white blouse, bottle green cardigan or jumper, bottle green blazer, socks and beret.
In the third year we could wear a skirt and beret was optional -ties had to be worn in the winter.
Summer uniform was a green & white striped dress, or open necked blouse and skirt.
The gymslip, blazer, beret and tie could only be bought from a small expensive outfitters. However, there was a second hand shop in the school - which was where my uniform came from!!
As there was only one other intake of children after me, (Grammar schools were axed) the regulations gradually becoame more relaxed.

My daughters went to a local comprehensive that had ideas above it's station!
Black jumper & blazer, grey skirt and tie for winter.
Summer - well to begin with it was red or grey skirt and open necked blouse. Then they changed it for a grey skirt, then, the school insited children wore ties long sleeved shirts and blazers all year round!!
The children had to ask to take off their blazers - amazingly some teachers refused - even in the 'oh so modern' glass buildings. The smell of sweat was overbearing at times!!
Just after my children left, the school introduced a new tie that could only be bought from the school - cost? £20!!

I think uniforms are a good idea, but question the need for ties.
I don't know any woman who wears a tie to work, and many men - even those in high positions - don't wear one either. How often have you seen Prescott ot Blair tieless?? (I'll ignore Brown - he seems to have some sort of 'issue' LOL)
One local comprehensive school has polo or sweat shirts (with the school badge on) and grey or black trousers (boys & girls) or skirts (girls!!)
The children look comfortable and relaxed.

maggie

Hi Peter and Pat, it was our school gaberdines that were poor quality, they didn't seem to be as sturdy as the one my Dad used to have, which was from a High Street Store.

They were certainly generous in their sizes, things seemed to last forever

I am in favour of school uniforms, they look smart & give a sense of identity. Also easy to report bad/good behaviour & truancy to the school.
I had to buy from one outfitter for my daughters at senior school. Even the blouses/shirts had the school crest on the pockets as well as the blazers. Not cheap but they lasted all through their time at school, I think I had only to replace one skirt in that time. Will these "cheaper" supermarket items last for the same length of time, or will they prove as or more expensive in the end?
The 6th form also had its own uniform, very smart black blazers & tartan skirts in a choice of lengths, short & long. guess which one they all wore?. We saw the same skirts on sale in Warehouse which made them feel a bit better about it.
I went to a school with no rigid uniform policy & we all suffered a girl who would come back after lunch in a different outfit, every day.
Pat

I went to a well known school in Liverpool who wear purple blazers. I don't know about now, but in my time uniforms could only be purchased from the school shop. From what I can remember, they were very hard wearing any used to last a couple of years.

I think the entire teaching profession would come out in strike if it was suggested that we had to wear uniforms.

Forcing kids to wear them is one thing but trying to force adults would be impossible.

I remember complaining to a teacher that she was wearing jewellery and I wasn't allowed to and she said it's because she was a grown up and when I grew up I could choose what to wear.

I still get kids complaining about the same thing today - and the fact that I wear nail varnish. I give them the same answer that I got.

Gwynne

I think it is the schools that insist on uniforms in the more outlandish colours, or as Deb's school did, a certain tartan, that are the ones that deny the parents the chance to buy in the High Street stores.

I am not even sure, thinking back, that the quality of the clothes from the outfitters was very good, which made it even more annoying

Dee

Not too bad for me now, only one at school,was a nightmare when all four of them were at school.
Son wears uniform, but I only need to sew on school badge to blazer & he has to wear a tie.All other items I can get in town, usually BHS.
I agree with Joan, if the pupils have to wear uniform, so should teachers.

Hev x

YOU CAN BUY CHEAP
BUT AFRAID SOME
MUMS THINK TESCO NOT GOOD ENOUGH
BHS HAS BLAZERS REDUCED EXCELLENT VALUE

OH WHAT DO YOU DO WITH OLD UNIFORM
DAUGHTER ALWAYS GIVES
OUTGROWN TO SCHOOL

I'd forgotten about the hats. Awful things.

Our uniform was bottle green and we had to buy it from the correct place - even coats and macs.

PE kit was also very expensive and from the same place.

We had to wear gymslips until the third year when we could wear skirts and the sixth form also had a different uniform. In the Upper VIth we got to wear tassels on our hats.

Gwynne