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School uniform: Why do we still bother with it?

By Mark Richards,

24 Jan 2020

The vast majority of secondary (and most primary) schools insist that their pupils wear school uniform.

It’s been this way for decades and uniform has become a firm fixture in our schools – an expectation, almost. It’s an issue that has rarely been seriously questioned or debated, beyond the obligatory Year 7 English speech writing task: ‘Should school uniform be abolished?’ That is, until recently.

Now it appears that genuine opposition to school uniforms seems to be gathering pace. The question being asked is a simple one. Does school uniform actually perform any useful function? Uniform has no effect on pupil outcomes In a world where it seems everything has to be measured against outcomes, it’s worth considering that school uniform has no measurable effect on outcomes whatsoever. On top of this, of course, they are also very expensive. The affordability of school uniforms It is the affordability of uniforms that causes the most concern.

Or rather, it’s the lack of affordability that does.

The Children’s Society has found that, on average, families spend £255 a year on primary school uniform and £340 a year on secondary school uniform. Critics accuse academies, in particular, of burdening parents with the cost of having to buy expensive uniforms, especially ones that appear to mimic the very traditional look that many grammar and private school uniforms have. In fairness, many new academies support parents by funding the cost of new uniform when a new academy opens, at least initially – but it’s still a cost.

Cash-strapped schools and struggling parents alike might reasonably question whether the money might be better spent on something else. In Scotland and England, councils and local authorities or academy trusts can choose to provide grants to parents.

Currently, in Wales, parents are given a £125 ‘pupil-development grant’ to cover the expense of uniform, sports kit and basic equipment.

The Welsh government is also putting pressure on schools to ensure that uniforms are accessible, affordable and gender-neutral.

Furthermore, schools are being pushed to consider whether school logos are necessary, and if uniform needs to vary between winter and summer (as this potentially doubles the cost for parents).

Is it time to cast aside the old arguments for uniform? So, is it now time for schools to cast aside those age-old arguments for school uniform? Some say uniform fosters a sense of pride and a sense of belonging.

If this is the case, then why is it that many boys refuse to tuck their shirts in or do their ties up properly? Similarly, girls often hitch skirts up as far as possible in defiance. To the casual observer, it would seem that there isn’t a great deal of ‘pride and belonging’ in evidence in most schools. Another pro-uniform argument is that it prevents schools from becoming fashion parades, with inevitable comparisons between the clothes worn by wealthy and poor children.

The line of thinking is that this leads to bullying.

However, observers in the few uniform-free schools that do exist say that is not a problem. On the face of it, there seems to be no discernible reason these days for schools to still insist that pupils wear uniform.

However, the question of how long schools will continue to persist with uniform remains unanswered.

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