DOWN WITH THE SCHOOL UNIFORM?

F . SHEEDY

Depending on who is reading this, you are likely a parent, or a student at the school itself. Therefore, you or your son has spent the majority of his mornings, since that first dull grey September sunrise in year 7, perpetually being choked by his own tie. That, or writhing around trying to fashion some breathing room in a blazer that can “last until summer”. Five years down the pipeline, and almost able see light at the other end of my last year before sixth form, I have finally come to the conclusion that the school uniform causes more problems than it solves. There are limited ways with which you can express yourself in a school setting

(aside from the £11.99 branded pencil case you bought to spice things up a little), but one clear way would be through the clothes you would wear. I’m not saying that each item would be an in-depth character statement about yourself, but you could sleep safer at night, knowing that whatever combination of clothes had made its way to the top of your drawer the next morning would be uniquely yours, and not the same clothing lauded by the other thousand or so copies seen every break-time in the quad. A government analysis of annual school uniform

expenditure in 2014/15, revealed that in secondary school, an average of £231 was spent on school uniforms. The fact that the uniform proves itself to be such a financial leech, before the child has even arrived at the school, likely discourages parents from contributing to fundraising initiatives that will actually help the child and their learning. Because make no mistake, school uniform has not been linked with an increase in attendance, behaviour or positive attitudes to the school, as per a study done by a Professor of Sociology in the USA.

And yet, some still try desperately to prove that a uniform increases students’ ability to conform. Perhaps on a surface level, but even then, is that something we really want. In Sixth Form, schools are effectively choosing clothes for adults, who legally have full independence. They should at least have some freedom afforded to them. I’m not saying that we go completely liberal, letting them wear whatever they want, but impose a dress code which leaves them some degree of choice, but also prepares them for the kind of expectations found in an office setting, in which they are likely to find themselves a few years after leaving. There are positives to a school uniform, and I understand that. It gives the school a sense of identity and accountability to the outside world. My question is this… if we depend on a school uniform to provide this for us, then aren’t we doing it all wrong? Our philosophy should be that a member of the public could tell who a Reading School boy is, because he is the one who gives up his seat on the bus, the one who holds the door open and the one who always smiles and says hello. Because yes, everyone here feels some degree of pride in this school, but let it be said that the school uniform has nothing to do with it.