Uniform rant
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Re: Uniform rant
Our blazer, while a rather garish shade of blue, is washable and therefore also, relatively cheap. Older DS has had his for 2 years and it still looks OK - as in, no worse than it always did.
The whole issue of school uniform is interesting in itself - why do we like children to wear it? In countries where they don't, kids tend to wear jeans and T shirts, but there is a feeling here, based on the ludicrous fashion parade of non-uniform days, that it would become a designer contest in no time. I wonder if it would or whether it would just even itself out in the end. British teenagers have a particular relationship with fashion and 'in' and 'out' groups which is far stronger than in other places I have experienced so maybe it would be a disaster. Or maybe they have this image thing because they have to wear uniform all the time and if they didn't, eventually they would just wear any old thing. And in Scandinavia and Germany it would be regarded as a military style infringement of the rights to self-expression which I cannot imagine ever getting discussed in any serious manner. Interesting.
The whole issue of school uniform is interesting in itself - why do we like children to wear it? In countries where they don't, kids tend to wear jeans and T shirts, but there is a feeling here, based on the ludicrous fashion parade of non-uniform days, that it would become a designer contest in no time. I wonder if it would or whether it would just even itself out in the end. British teenagers have a particular relationship with fashion and 'in' and 'out' groups which is far stronger than in other places I have experienced so maybe it would be a disaster. Or maybe they have this image thing because they have to wear uniform all the time and if they didn't, eventually they would just wear any old thing. And in Scandinavia and Germany it would be regarded as a military style infringement of the rights to self-expression which I cannot imagine ever getting discussed in any serious manner. Interesting.
Re: Uniform rant
Having had DD in a navy sweatshirt and now a navy blazer, I would opt for a blazer anytime. The sweatshirts faded within a few washes to a nasty shade of grey and the uniform had no pockets so she was regularly losing keys, bus tickets ect. The machine washable blazer still looks in perfect condition a year later and the inner zip pockets make it far more practical.
The kilt is a different matter!
The kilt is a different matter!
Re: Uniform rant
Now my DD is in the 6th form, she can wear almost anything. Basic rules are nothing ripped (either by design or wear, no midriffs showing, no shorts, no strapless tops, no underwear showing,no unreasonable slogans.
Most of the girls settle down very quickly into jeans or tracksuit bottoms, t shirts to other casual tops and sweatshirts/hoodies. On three or four formal days they are asked to wear smart, which means smart skirt or trousers plus blouse/shirt. The prefects wear gowns,so you can't see what they are wearing on formal occasions anyway!
Most of the girls settle down very quickly into jeans or tracksuit bottoms, t shirts to other casual tops and sweatshirts/hoodies. On three or four formal days they are asked to wear smart, which means smart skirt or trousers plus blouse/shirt. The prefects wear gowns,so you can't see what they are wearing on formal occasions anyway!
Re: Uniform rant
We're definitely fans of blazers here, as well. However, DD's new school has David Luke "Eco" ones, complete with so many warnings on the label as to how one is able to ruin the garment completely during the washing process that I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that they were also dry-cleanable and trotted up to the dry-cleaners with itMinesatea wrote:Having had DD in a navy sweatshirt and now a navy blazer, I would opt for a blazer anytime. The sweatshirts faded within a few washes to a nasty shade of grey and the uniform had no pockets so she was regularly losing keys, bus tickets ect. The machine washable blazer still looks in perfect condition a year later and the inner zip pockets make it far more practical.
The kilt is a different matter!
Only to be told firmly that as it was made from Terylene, she would only wash it anyway
Re kilts, the nice lady in the uniform suppliers told me how to wash them so that the pleats stay sharp (put the kilt carefully in the leg of a pair of tights and secure the ends before washing it. So I did, and it worked brilliantly. Until I liberated the kilt and noticed the small sticky mark where DD must have sat on a sweet... After struggling to get that out, no amount of careful washing in a pair of tights was going to save the pleats...
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Re: Uniform rant
Thanks for the tights suggestion Toadmum, will definitely try that one. I hate ironing pleats back in.
Re: Uniform rant
Governors should ensure that uniform can be bought at high street suppliers and not just one supplier.
This used to be part of the governors' guide to the law...which no longer actually exists in the lawless land of education today, but is still adhered to by most.
That was indeed a huge amount of money to spend on uniform
I am fortunate at my boys' Grammar because you can buy the plain blazer anywhere and stitch on the school badge (£5). Trousers and shirts can be bought at Asda very cheaply so we have plenty (although my eldest has trousers from John Lewis due to being as thin as a lamp post and unable to keep the Asda ones up
) and the tie is only about £4 at most. However, I understand that the linked girls' school insist on specific blouses and skirts which would really ramp up the bill.
What pushes the bill higher for the boys is sports kit which has to be embroidered with their name on the front (in case they expire during a rather violent rugby match?) but I get this embroidered with the surname only and pass it down.
A big expense is the mouthguard though at about £40 but I go on the premise that their teeth are worth more than that. Actually, if they had their teeth knocked out I could have saved a fortunate in orthodontist bills, but let's not go there...
I picked up loads of cricket whites for 99p each (yes, 99p each for the trousers, shirts and jumpers) at the Sports Direct Christmas sale last year so that's worth looking out for.
I have more issues with my younger children's Primary school who have such a frankly weird uniform, you can only buy it from one supplier, and it is very expensive. Moreover, the quality is so terrible, you can't even pass the sweatshirts or shirts down because they've frayed and faded too badly after one child has used them
This used to be part of the governors' guide to the law...which no longer actually exists in the lawless land of education today, but is still adhered to by most.
That was indeed a huge amount of money to spend on uniform
I am fortunate at my boys' Grammar because you can buy the plain blazer anywhere and stitch on the school badge (£5). Trousers and shirts can be bought at Asda very cheaply so we have plenty (although my eldest has trousers from John Lewis due to being as thin as a lamp post and unable to keep the Asda ones up
) and the tie is only about £4 at most. However, I understand that the linked girls' school insist on specific blouses and skirts which would really ramp up the bill. What pushes the bill higher for the boys is sports kit which has to be embroidered with their name on the front (in case they expire during a rather violent rugby match?) but I get this embroidered with the surname only and pass it down.
A big expense is the mouthguard though at about £40 but I go on the premise that their teeth are worth more than that. Actually, if they had their teeth knocked out I could have saved a fortunate in orthodontist bills, but let's not go there...
I picked up loads of cricket whites for 99p each (yes, 99p each for the trousers, shirts and jumpers) at the Sports Direct Christmas sale last year so that's worth looking out for.
I have more issues with my younger children's Primary school who have such a frankly weird uniform, you can only buy it from one supplier, and it is very expensive. Moreover, the quality is so terrible, you can't even pass the sweatshirts or shirts down because they've frayed and faded too badly after one child has used them
Re: Uniform rant
Now, that is definitely something to take up with the Governors!!um wrote:I have more issues with my younger children's Primary school who have such a frankly weird uniform, you can only buy it from one supplier, and it is very expensive. Moreover, the quality is so terrible, you can't even pass the sweatshirts or shirts down because they've frayed and faded too badly after one child has used them
I found your comment about boys' trousers interesting - I normally bought M&S or Tesco ones for DD and adjusted them on the elastic and button arrangement. One year I got some from John Lewis instead, but never again, as they were not adjustable and I really hate sewing
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Re: Uniform rant
I think John Lewis do different styles but the ones my son has are fully adjustable. Next have very good school trousers too. DS2 actually prefers the Asda trousers - he's a little wider (ahem) than ds1.
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pheasantchick
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Re: Uniform rant
Next trousers are defiantly the best quality. Also, sometimes they have school trousers in the Clearance section half price. If you do Cick and Collect, there's no delivery charge either.
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PROBSNAIVE
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Re: Uniform rant
Uniform shopping done! A relatively painless experience. We have two uniform shops in the same street about 5 mins from home. So what we couldn't find in one, we managed to find or order in the other. Surprisingly they had sizes going right down to age 7-8 in a few of the items! A point about trousers, they are on our list for girls uniform but the lady in the shop wouldn't show us any! She said 'oh no, nobody wears trousers!' We had already bought the skirt, so that wasn't the reason.
