School to become an academy - unfair uniform pricing

loulou123

My secondary school (i left 16 years ago!) Used to be really strict with uniform - girls wore:

Maroon blazer with school crest embroidered on
Pink and white checked shirt
Grey v neck jumper with school crest
Grey skirt, that had to be a certain length and pleated in a certain place (meaning it HAD to be brought from 1 supplier.)

Gym kit was maroon shorts or netball skirt, white embroidered t-shirt and maroon and white socks!

Boys were bit luckier - black blazers, white shirts, black tie and trousers (so only blazer and jumper needed to be specially brought.)

Don't know how my mum afforded it, think I had 2 blazers in 5 years I was there.

The school has recently relaxed its uniform policy, and from what I've seen its not for the better, as the kids (girls especially) seem to be outgoing each other on who has 'best' or most expensive clothes etc, at least when I was there, we all looked stupid together! Now its more like a fashion show...

JC9297

shellsuit wrote: »

I'm not blowing it's trumpet, but just saying whether a school has a uniform or not for 6th formers doesn't come into how good their education is.

Or indeed if it has a uniform at all.

Spendless

shellsuit wrote: »

It's the 6th form at their school so there is a uniform and if kids from other schools apply to go there, they have to have the uniform too.

Exactly what happens where I live. 16 of the 17 Secondary schools have 6th forms. 6th form students continue to wear the school uniform of that school (they may have a diff colour tie to identify they are 6th formers). Anyone joining that school in the 6th form, regardless has to wear the uniform too.

Oh I went back and read the thread after quoting you-lol. Since all 16 schools with 6th forms here do wear uniform- I can quite honestly say some do fab with results, some do pants. I therefore don't believe it's anything to do with what the students are wearing - the local college which offers A level classes and doesn't have uniform has been under-performing for the past few years -mainly to do with budgeting costs and changing principals, so the staff leaving in droves rather than what their 16-18year olds wear in class.

Mrs_Arcanum

Not forgetting 20% VAT - This was the main reason for the huge price hike from Primary to Secondary locally as all secondary uniform (even the small sizes had VAT added).

jellyhead

Our school uniform is very reasonable, despite a couple of complaints I've had over the years.

The PE kit was a killer though, especially when he lost it during the first term and they would only give him 2 weeks leeway for me to buy another. Because it was the first term and he didn't know what he needed his bag contained the official rugby shirt, official PE shirt, shorts in both colours, trainers, football boots, shin pads and football socks.

Total cost including bag was over £100 and that was with me buying a cheap bag, cheap football boots and cheap trainers.

When school doesn't provide lockers or pegs and forces the children to dump their bags in a pile outside the lecture theatre I really think they should expect more items to go missing and allow more leeway for parents to replace those items

shellsuit

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

Only time mine get new is when they have worn it out or grown out if it. DD wore the same polo shirts for 5 years. Decent quality that lasted, nor do I have spare money to buy new unnecessarily. Locally "new" uniforms seem to be shunned and most endeavour to get them looking well washed ASAP.

Sixth form has always been part of the school & has never had a uniform. The local stand alone college no longer does A level courses as they couldn't compete on quality of teaching for core subjects. The former Grammar school is the only other sixth form locally & they do not wear uniform either. All take students from wherever depending on what courses they want to do due to specialisation. Some go to both sixth forms if the timetables clash.

Point being it cannot be the wearing of uniform that makes the students excel, but just maybe treating them as young adults makes a difference.

So having them wear a uniform means they're not being treated as young adults and that can make a difference to how they perform with their studying?

Totally disagree.

Uniforms are more beneficial for parents, as they are cheaper than supplying a years worth of 'normal' clothes for a child/teen/young adult.

Wearing a uniform also shows which school/6th form they belong to.

You were basically knocking the 6th form my son will go to, for having the students wear a uniform, because you think it is old fashioned and isn't "educationally beneficial", when you didn't know the first thing about the school.

I don't have anything against 6th forms who allow their pupils to wear their own clothes, and certainly wouldn't think they under or over achieve because of that.

JC9297 wrote: »

Or indeed if it has a uniform at all.

*is confused*

That's what I said. I said whether they have a uniform or not.

embob74

kingfisherblue wrote: »

One option might be to have badges made.
To have a design added to your won clothes, it cost £3 per item for upto four items. Five plus, the cost was £2.50 per item

What a great idea if people only knew how to do this. One year I managed to buy a new black blazer for £2.50 in a shop sale. My mum carefully took the school badge off the old blazer and sewed it onto the new one. Voila - a new blazer for £2.50. It was months before anyone noticed it wasn't exactly the same as the school's blazers and that was only because DD kept boasting about our bargain!!
I love thegirlintheattic's school's policy in giving a badge to sew onto bog standard jumpers. All schools should do this. Perhaps sell the badges for a few pounds and make money that way as I'm sure it wouldn't cost much to order badges in bulk.

vax2002

Nobody buys the school uniform from the school round here, they charge £42 for a polo shirt that washes once and ends up 3 feet wide and six inch high.
The local shop will sell a fit for purpose shirt with embroidered logo for £12.
The school tried the copyright bluff but the shops insurers shut them up in one phone call quoting the EU rules on monopolies and price fixing huge fines imposed on companies by the EU, they soon shut up !
What it does do is open up the market to local traders who can embroider the logo.

embob74

jellyhead wrote: »

when he lost it during the first term and they would only give him 2 weeks leeway for me to buy another.
When school doesn't provide lockers or pegs and forces the children to dump their bags in a pile outside the lecture theatre I really think they should expect more items to go missing and allow more leeway for parents to replace those items

When my DD reached year 9 they had access to a common room. Pupils had to take their shoes off outside the room and when DD went to get hers at the end of break somebody had taken them.....and left a pair in their place. They were similar in that they were black ballet pump style but DD's were brand new matt black size 5 and these were scruffy, old patent ones in size 6 :eek:

I do hope whoever took them still has the blister scars from squeezing into shoes which are too small

Mrs_Arcanum

shellsuit wrote: »

So having them wear a uniform means they're not being treated as young adults and that can make a difference to how they perform with their studying?

Totally disagree.

Uniforms are more beneficial for parents, as they are cheaper than supplying a years worth of 'normal' clothes for a child/teen/young adult.

Wearing a uniform also shows which school/6th form they belong to.

You were basically knocking the 6th form my son will go to, for having the students wear a uniform, because you think it is old fashioned and isn't "educationally beneficial", when you didn't know the first thing about the school.

I don't have anything against 6th forms who allow their pupils to wear their own clothes, and certainly wouldn't think they under or over achieve because of that.





*is confused*

That's what I said. I said whether they have a uniform or not.

Locally they are allowed to go to BOTH sixth forms so a uniform would be crazy anyway. However, I do think there should come a time when young adults are allowed to stop wearing uniform and sixth form is an ideal time. After all they could legally be married and have children themselves before leaving school. Singling some 16+ year old's out by keeping them in uniform when their friends can wear what they like just seems very old fashioned to me.

Uniforms do not always equal a brilliant education, nor does an affordable uniform mean a poor education. Yet there seems to be a draconian return to expensive, OTT and unnecessary uniform restrictions. A balance between affording the uniform and having some non uniform clothes is essential. Yet with the high cost of some this will not be a choice at all. Let alone paying for the quantity required all at once particularly when changes are made relatively quickly.

I would rather see the money spent on better school facilities than posher uniforms.