[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I'm more in favour of a dress code than a strict uniform policy, Uniforms are a bit of a con and they're only enforced in order for schools to squeeze money out of parents.

But that money is spent on uniforms so...?

Also, around here uniforms aren't bought direct from the school.

You buy shirt/jumper/trousers in the appropriate colours.

[LukeB]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Same in the UK. Colleges/Unis don't have uniforms.

Colleges do (depending on the course you do)

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by LukeB

Colleges do (depending on the course you do)

Which courses?

A jumper with the name of the college doesn't count as a uniform, they're optional.

And a uniform in PE is kind of obvious, if you play for a team you want to be identifiable as part of that team.

[LukeB]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Which courses?

A jumper with the name of the college doesn't count as a uniform, they're optional.

And a uniform in PE is kind of obvious, if you play for a team you want to be identifiable as part of that team.

Well from my college Public services, hair and beauty

But i did travel and tourism and i had to wear a uniform for it and i didnt have an optional choice. You had to wear it. But all the courses uniform are different.

[Redway]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Which courses?

A jumper with the name of the college doesn't count as a uniform, they're optional.

And a uniform in PE is kind of obvious, if you play for a team you want to be identifiable as part of that team.

Some sixth forms in Liverpool (Bluecoat for one) have a uniform for sixth form. I don't think it's just a primary/high school thing a lot of the time.

[Tozzie]

Originally Posted by BBUKAUSFAN

Here in Australia every single school has uniforms then you hit univeristy / college and there gone. Uniforms are boring and don't let children express themselves.

What has wearing a school uniform got to do with children expressing themselves? They are in school to learn an education and have plenty of free time after school and at weekends/holidays to wear their out of school clothing.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by LukeB

Well from my college Public services, hair and beauty

But i did travel and tourism and i had to wear a uniform for it and i didnt have an optional choice. You had to wear it. But all the courses uniform are different.

Yeah, but that's different. In courses like that uniforms are required for health and safety/cleanliness reasons. Hairdressers tend to wear overalls with a material that prevents much of the hair from sticking to them, ruining their regular clothes. And then they also handle bleaches/hair dyes etc.

It's like catering/food tech students, they wear a uniform not for the sake of it but because of the nature of the stuff they're doing.

[Morgan.]

Originally Posted by Tozzie

What has wearing a school uniform got to do with children expressing themselves? They are in school to learn an education and have plenty of free time after school and at weekends/holidays to wear their out of school clothing.

Hahaha free time. You do make me laugh

I finish school, when i get home I have an hour to sit and relax, so my own thing, then I have dinner for an hour, then I follow my revision timetable for the day, then have my evening downtime and before I know it's time to sleep.

The weekends no different because if I'm not revising and up for going out with friends, they're revising. And vice versa.

I really think UK schools would benefit from having no uniform. If not to make people to more comfortable, but to encourage 'naughty' students who bunk all the time to quit complaining and turn up.

[MrTheMan]

School uniforms look really tacky and ugly.

[Marsh.]

So, the solution to constant revision and school work is to abolish uniforms because student have a lack of expression?

Snowflake times indeed.

[Morgan.]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

So, the solution to constant revision and school work is to abolish uniforms because student have a lack of expression?

Snowflake times indeed.

No it was just in response to the comment about free time.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Blurryface

No it was just in response to the comment about free time.

Well school children do get a lot of free time.

I imagine your jam-packed revision schedule is only around exam periods.

[LukeB]

I don't get this 'express yourself' why do you need to express yourself at school? the only reason why they would want to express themselves is to impress people. You go to school to learn not to impress anyone. There's no one there to impress because it's not important to express yourself at school.

[Marsh.]

I don't see why you need clothes to speak for you and "express you" either.

Most kids opt for the latest trainers, trend at the high street stores. So wearing manufactured mass produced styles/clothes isn't really expressing anything other than "Look what my mum can afford".

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Blurryface

Hahaha free time. You do make me laugh

I finish school, when i get home I have an hour to sit and relax, so my own thing, then I have dinner for an hour, then I follow my revision timetable for the day, then have my evening downtime and before I know it's time to sleep.

The weekends no different because if I'm not revising and up for going out with friends, they're revising. And vice versa.

I really think UK schools would benefit from having no uniform. If not to make people to more comfortable, but to encourage 'naughty' students who bunk all the time to quit complaining and turn up.

Who actually bunks because of school uniform though? People who truant do it because they can't be bothered to turn up in the first place not because they want to wear their own thing.

[Marsh.]

Yeah, you never see kids who are playing truant.... still wearing their school uniforms.

You see groups of them hanging around town centres well into the evening in their uniforms so I don't think it's that they're opposed to.

It's doing a bit of work they don't like.

[Morgan.]

Originally Posted by Jason.

Who actually bunks because of school uniform though? People who truant do it because they can't be bothered to turn up in the first place not because they want to wear their own thing.

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Yeah, you never see kids who are playing truant.... still wearing their school uniforms.

You see groups of them hanging around town centres well into the evening in their uniforms so I don't think it's that they're opposed to.

It's doing a bit of work they don't like.

At our school there's a lot who pack clothes into their bags and change after school, and a lot who wear their own jumpers and get ISO for it.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Blurryface

At our school there's a lot who pack clothes into their bags and change after school, and a lot who wear their own jumpers and get ISO for it.

Kids tended to take their ties off at my high school or put their own fleeces over the school blazer if it was extra cold. That's just people being people.

Doesn't mean they're being prevented from freedom of expression nor does it mean they truant because they have to wear a uniform, especially when most of them truant IN the uniform.

[user104658]

Urgh, I would have hated having to pick out my own clothes every day / think about what to have ready . Having a uniform was so easy... Just a row of white shirts and black trousers and my tie. Ahh. Simplicity. Gives you MORE free time is anything. I rarely even bothered getting changed after school, I pretty much only wore my own clothes at the weekend .

[Withano]

Originally Posted by Blurryface

At our school there's a lot who pack clothes into their bags and change after school, and a lot who wear their own jumpers and get ISO for it.

Sounds like they have a lot of free time to express themselves

[Ronald.]

Originally Posted by Withano

Is it not a good thing that children learn to express themselves with words instead of material possessions?

What a great post Withano. Totally agree. My wife works in a school and we've had this debate before.

I think uniform is a great idea as it does train you in discipline at an age when you desperately need it. That said, a dress code does tick the box too. The amount of money we've spent on uniform over the years is ridiculous. Now you can go into asda and there's cheap jumpers and skirts which is great for growing kids and parents on a budget.

Regarding the 'express yourself' argument, I'm not sure the workplace is a place for expressing yourself through your appearance, so why should schools be?

As for hiding whose parents can afford nicer clothers argument - I think that's stupid. Whilst i'm in favour of uniform, I don't think thats its purpose. It's not like kids don't see each other outside school. They wear backpacks, trainers, you name it... besides I think kids are clever enough to work out whose parents earn more money without uniform (From going round each others houses etc)

In my eyes uniform at school is about discipline and preparation for the world of work. That's why I think it's a good thing. R.

[user104658]

I'd also add that as yet I haven't had a job where I didn't have to wear a uniform... And again I prefer it that way for convenience sake. No wondering what to wear or digging about for clothes... Just "Is uniform washed and dried? Yes. Done."

I don't need to be trying to pick out clothes every day! Yawn! Who has the time .

I also find it sort of worrying that the only way "kids these days" know how to express or individualise themselves is through fashion choice. Ffs. "I am me because I have this hairstyle and I wear this jacket and that tells you what you need to know about my identity". Nooo. In fact one of the major benefits of a school uniform is that it makes kids LESS likely to "tribalise" and "stick with their own"... It promotes integration, and lets people get to actually know each other, and for their individuality to shine through their personality and not their t-shirt slogan.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I'd also add that as yet I haven't had a job where I didn't have to wear a uniform... And again I prefer it that way for convenience sake. No wondering what to wear or digging about for clothes... Just "Is uniform washed and dried? Yes. Done."

I don't need to be trying to pick out clothes every day! Yawn! Who has the time .

I also find it sort of worrying that the only way "kids these days" know how to express or individualise themselves is through fashion choice. Ffs. "I am me because I have this hairstyle and I wear this jacket and that tells you what you need to know about my identity". Nooo. In fact one of the major benefits of a school uniform is that it makes kids LESS likely to "tribalise" and "stick with their own"... It promotes integration, and lets people get to actually know each other, and for their individuality to shine through their personality and not their t-shirt slogan.

I don't wear a uniform for my job but I work in an office in a small company and it's all very casual, I can just wear clothes that I would normally wear but my husband he doesn't have a uniform but he has to wear clothes that are more formal than he would normally wear so he has had to get a whole separate wardrobe of clothes for work because you can't wear the same shirt twice a week if it's not a uniform kind of a thing

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I don't wear a uniform for my job but I work in an office in a small company and it's all very casual, I can just wear clothes that I would normally wear but my husband he doesn't have a uniform but he has to wear clothes that are more formal than he would normally wear so he has had to get a whole separate wardrobe of clothes for work because you can't wear the same shirt twice a week if it's not a uniform kind of a thing

Exactly, I can wear the same stuff like 4 days in a row and get away with it...

...... ... ...

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Exactly, I can wear the same stuff like 4 days in a row and get away with it...

...... ... ...

I don't mean without washing them, i just mean if it's your own clothes you need to get alot of different stuff, where as if it was a uniform shirt, you could have two or three just and wash them in between