I have only fairly recently moved to Sheffield and my childhood in Barnsley.

All the High schools in Barnsley have a uniform consisting of a shirt smart tailored skirt or trousers and a school tie depending on the school they attend. Some have introduced specific coloured jumpers or cardigans to replaces blazers.

Now of course when I moved to Sheffield I was shocked to see scruffy looking teens going to and from school with a jumper and jeans on normally with some type of trainer??

Am I being stuck up or is there really a problem with this? My hubby told me that this type of uniform was introduced to reduce costs to parents, but kitting my son out for his school is a flippin nightmare.

I can order a sweatshirt and polo shirts with the school logo embroidered on that arrive the day before he starts school, giving me
a) lots of opportunity to rush round like a blue arsed fly
b) ample opportunity for my son to have a growing spurt during the 6 weeks holiday thus rendering £40+ worth of uniform too small
c) no guarantee from school that I can return the items for bigger size as THEY are bound by a minimum order

Alernatively I could go to a kids clothes shop and buy a plain shirt and trousers that I can fit him in there and then and change them closer to the new term should he decide he wants to grow a bit. My son looks smart, the same as every other kid.

Now how is the current system helpful or cost effective for parents???

Confused Moon Maiden

The uniforms for some schools in Sheffield is black trousers, polo shirt and jumper, and they can wear trainers, although I think they're 'supposed' to wear black shoes.

When I was at school my parents had to pay quite a lot for my uniform, it was this awful grey wool material, that got bigger and bigger after each wash. The girls could also wear a skirt (not short) or trousers (no flares, must have crease down middle.) Also, had to wear a blue shirt, always had to have top button fastened and tie done up 'properly.'

It seems since I left that school though, only 2 years ago, the kids don't give a damn and just do what they want, fair enough wearing uniform but not to the rules we did. I think the price of a school jumper when I was at school was nearly £30!! It's ridiculous having to pay the prices you do!

Chloé

Must be me then :?

Moon

.

So it is just Hillsborough schools that like their kids to look like louts then??

Ho hum

Moon Maiden

We had to wear blazer and tie at our school. It does make a difference, most notably from the point of view that snobbery about clothes is a very minor issue.

Originally posted by waxy chuff
We had to wear blazer and tie at our school. It does make a difference, most notably from the point of view that snobbery about clothes is a very minor issue.
My school days were spent being called a tramp because my (and many others') uniform was so obviously second hand. I think the snobbery just becomes more nuanced, but it is still there

i left ecclesfield comp last year and non of the teavhers really gave a damn if we diddnt wear out proper uniform (i always did though, im a goody goody me!!) if you could call it a "uniform" black trousers or a skirt, a red or a black polo shirt with the logo on it and the samr for the jumper. I think for a t shirt and a jumper, it was about ...well i cant remember...it was a lot anyway!
(£44?)

did anyone here go to ecco?

No, you are absolutely right. Our school, however, was pretty overwhelmingly poor, so there weren't many people with balls enough to have a go.

well i go 2 king ecgberts, and we just have black bottoms, a grey or black jumper, black white red or grey teeshirt and any trainers. it isnt too bad :)

Originally posted by Moon Maiden
So it is just Hillsborough schools that like their kids to look like louts then??

Ho hum

Moon Maiden It seems that way M.M.
I live in Longley and all the schools here are the same, yet schools in the more affluant areas still wear full uniform.
As a parent it makes it easier not to have to shop for uniforms but i am all for them as now days school kids look like a load of yobs in baseball caps.
The money, cost regarding uniforms was a big factor in changing the rules most definate as some kids had to wear second hand stuff and some had just one uniform to last them all year.
I always wore uniform because we had to including tie and i only had the one to last me all year and to have to wear the same trousers Monday to Friday day in day out was not pleasant and my trousers always looked shiney with the constant wear.
But that was a couple of generations ago and things change, if parents can afford uniform then i think they should have it, and all kids should be able to have 2 sets of uniform even if the parents are on state benefits.
Social Security waste loads of money on people who don't deserve benefits and i,m talking about lost causes, get them to work and the money saved can go towards providing the poorer kids with uniform especially the lower paid parents.

Doesn't the SS provide assistance for things like school uniform??

They used to have a school shop in barnsley that was part funded by government agencies. I guess barnsley was considered as a poorer area??

Moon Maiden

There's no reason why uniform should cost more than any other clothes unless the rules are so restrictive that someone gets a monopoly. My brat had to have a £70 blazer - because that particular colour only comes from one manufacturer. Even the "official" plain grey flannel trousers were twice the price of the same thing in a department store. The blazer is only used to walk the half mile to/from school in summer, they get left in the cloakroom on arrival. In winter they have an overcoat instead. However they look smart, there is no arguement about what he's going to wear for school and if they misbehave in the street people know which school to report it to - and let's face it, he's got to wear something and it's going to cost.

The alternative is worse in almost all respects, kids bullied for not conforming with the clothing rules set by the class bully (I think this is largely a girl thing). Bullying because "you've got trainers off the market" - or even £30 ones when the accepted norm is £70. Setting an expectation of all the clothes needing designer labels. One girl told me she would have to phone her bully every evening and be told, in some detail, what clothes she was to wear next day, resistance was met with violence. And then those high price items become targets for theft or deliberate damage.

Whereas girls bully for the clothes not being up to a standard boys are more likely to bully lads who are smartly dressed and well groomed.

My teenage daughter's non-uniform school clothes cost was higher than my sons expensive uniform - and she looked a mess most of the time. She was at Silverdale. They have a range of "uniform" sweatshirts - but the school only seems to pay lip-service to enforcing any kind of standard. Private schools almost universally have quite strict uniform standards - they must have a reason. Why should state schools be relegated to second best, why not aspire to the same standards?

The answer: Uniforms but affordable ones.

Sadly school uniforms don't iron out social differences.
At High Storrs in the Fifties you could spot by the badge design
where the uniform was bought.
The poor families went to the Co-op and the rich ones went to
Walsh's or Stewart & Stewart (expensive outfitters on
Pinstone St).
The whole High Storrs uniform was bizarre anyway.
The cap was half green and black -like an Irish harlequin!

My school didn't have a uniform in the years that I attended it. They have since re-introduced the uniforms. I prefer them and think they are a good idea.

High Storrs doesn't have any uniform these days. Silverdale has just a sweater and trousers. Few schools have proper traditional uniforms these days. Most just have a sweater and trousers uniform.

ow da hell do u fink i feel i go to bklumin notre dame dea ties r a tenner!!! da jumpa is £30 tht £40 pound wit out trousers shoes nd shirts!!! i wunt mid if it wo nice buts bludy boogey green! we get dun 4 not avin our tie up 2 our collas! were not loud 2 take our mingin jumpas off unless da stupid smily face is hanging out of the window! i mean a yellow smily face i personally fink out skool take da mick!

Originally posted by jesslicker
ow da hell do u fink i feel i go to bklumin notre dame dea ties r a tenner!!! da jumpa is £30 tht £40 pound wit out trousers shoes nd shirts!!! i wunt mid if it wo nice buts bludy boogey green! we get dun 4 not avin our tie up 2 our collas! were not loud 2 take our mingin jumpas off unless da stupid smily face is hanging out of the window! i mean a yellow smily face i personally fink out skool take da mick!

Yeah, but no, but....

Originally posted by jesslicker
............ i personally fink out skool take da mick!

They certainly do during the literacy lessons.:(

Er, I mean....day crtinli doo jurin litrasi lesns ;)

OMG!! what WAS that?? Sister Monica must be spinning in her grave!!!

:rolleyes:

Originally posted by rubydazzler
OMG!! what WAS that?? Sister Monica must be spinning in her grave!!!

:rolleyes:

I couldn`t put it better myself. :clap: :clap:

Our local school is meant to have a uniform which is black trousers /skirt, polo shirt with school name on, sweatshirt with school name on and black shoes / trainers.

The kids actually appear to wear a uniform consisting of jeans, white trainers, burburry caps and berghaus coats. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
My school days were spent being called a tramp because my (and many others') uniform was so obviously second hand. I think the snobbery just becomes more nuanced, but it is still there

I, for one, never wore a uniform in all my days at school. I never encountered this kind of one-upmanship and bullying but then when I was at school Nirvana were really big and the object of the exercise was to look as scruffy and unkempt as possible.

From what I've heard (and I've no particular reason to see this as being false) uniforms are being introduced so that schoolchildren can be identified more easily in cases of trouble on the way to and from school.

However, I'm glad I never wore a uniform as it allowed a degree of expression (sometimes to the exasperation of Those In Charge) which wouldn't have been allowed otherwise.

That said, I was never the victim of being called trampy as an insult, as might have been Phanerothyme. To be honest, I'd have probably taken it as a compliment!

My school had a uniform - pleated navy blue skirt, white shirt and tie, a blazer with the school badge on the pocket and - wait for it - a straw boater with a navy band. Great. It must have cost my mum a small fortune though, I never thought about that at the time.

That's terrible Tracie, what did the girls have to wear?:P

Originally posted by saxon51
That's terrible Tracie, what did the girls have to wear?:P

Exactly the same, but without the hat :P

hi there my daughter starts reception in september she has to have a school jumper and polo shirt and hat but the rest of the uniform trousers skirts pinfore dresses and shoes not trainers can be purchased else where know what you mean tho some schools dont really inforce there dress code and the kids look a mess

Originally posted by BAZZO
Sadly school uniforms don't iron out social differences.
At High Storrs in the Fifties you could spot by the badge design
where the uniform was bought.
The poor families went to the Co-op and the rich ones went to
Walsh's or Stewart & Stewart (expensive outfitters on
Pinstone St).
The whole High Storrs uniform was bizarre anyway.
The cap was half green and black -like an Irish harlequin!

I don't believe HS actually has a school uniform now - my relatives' daughters don't have to wear anything particular.

Alex

Originally posted by t020
High Storrs doesn't have any uniform these days. Silverdale has just a sweater and trousers. Few schools have proper traditional uniforms these days. Most just have a sweater and trousers uniform. My school did in Sidcup...

Maybe, it's a Sheffield thing?

Alex

i went to meadowhead we had a uniform my nephews go to newfield and mundella they have uniforms and also carfield have one but they are all jumpers and polo shirts not blazers

I went High Storrs and thankfully there was no uniform,I would of felt a real geek, as back then I was into black and tassles and stuff.I dont like uniform,clothes-especially in your teens- are an expression of who you are, I would of hated to be made into another "brick in thier wall."It would also of been a lot harder to "wag it "on sunny days,( when all there was to look forward to for the afternoon was double maths, p.s.e and r.e.)Much more fun down roughs, or in Endcliff park. I remember one time "wagging" and we played catch with an open talcum powder, hillarious!
My Mum also went to High Storrs when it did have a uniform, I remember her saying something about having to wear navy knickers to play hockey in and the boys all laughing at them!? She was voted to be a pre-fect in the 6th form, but they wouldn't let her as she'd dyed her hair green!

Originally posted by sammie
i left ecclesfield comp last year and non of the teavhers really gave a damn if we diddnt wear out proper uniform (i always did though, im a goody goody me!!) if you could call it a "uniform" black trousers or a skirt, a red or a black polo shirt with the logo on it and the samr for the jumper. I think for a t shirt and a jumper, it was about ...well i cant remember...it was a lot anyway!
(£44?)

did anyone here go to ecco?

I left Ecco in 1982. At that time the uniform included a dreadful maroon blazer and stripey school tie that had maroon and gold in it. Did nothing for a kid with red hair! :(

I hated the idea of uniform then, as I thought it crushed individual expression. However, I find that a lesser evil now than that of designer-label clothing, and the immense value placed on it by young (and not-so-young) people these days.

Maybe the answer is to allow schoolkids to wear anything they want, as long as it's from M&S :hihi:

at the all boys prep school i went to there was a dress code, not a uniform; requiring shirt, tie, dress pants, and blazer/sportcoat. the big thing was that hair and facial hair were factors as well. if you had hair past your collar you had detention until you cut it. if you went in with a beard or shadow you had to shave right then and there with an ancient dull blade with no lather. and if you shaved your head bald you had detention until it grew back to an "acceptable" length- which could take months!!
i actually enjoyed the discipline, who knows what prison i'd be in now not for all that, and i plan to send any boys i may have to a similar school.

Originally posted by jesslicker
ow da hell do u fink i feel i go to bklumin notre dame dea ties r a tenner!!! da jumpa is £30 tht £40 pound wit out trousers shoes nd shirts!!! i wunt mid if it wo nice buts bludy boogey green! we get dun 4 not avin our tie up 2 our collas! were not loud 2 take our mingin jumpas off unless da stupid smily face is hanging out of the window! i mean a yellow smily face i personally fink out skool take da mick!


Talk sense man.

You go to a decent school, where the english lessons are pretty good. So why not try using the skills you learned.

Might not be the most attractive of uniforms, everyone looked smart all the time. It looked really good on open nights and when inspectors/visitors were in.

Compare it to the scruffy looking uniforms where all they have is a tacky navy blue sweat top a polo shirt and any old pair of jeans, usually blue is favoured by the more "trendy" kids, a pair of bright white trainers finished off by a rather fetching baseball cap. Looks absolutely terrible.

You only have to compare Notre Dame to other schools to see that the way they do things is very effective, and they are obviously doing something right!

And Notre Dame is exactly that harsh. Just dont work against the teachers and you can have a right laugh.

When I left Chaucer comp they were just introducing the 'uniform' which I think was a jumper/T-shirt with the school logo on it.It was introduced to be casual and not the full uniform of old ie blazer,shirt etc.

Originally posted by jesslicker
ow da hell do u fink i feel i go to bklumin notre dame dea ties r a tenner!!! da jumpa is £30 tht £40 pound wit out trousers shoes nd shirts!!! i wunt mid if it wo nice buts bludy boogey green! we get dun 4 not avin our tie up 2 our collas! were not loud 2 take our mingin jumpas off unless da stupid smily face is hanging out of the window! i mean a yellow smily face i personally fink out skool take da mick!

well wearing a uniform hasn't helped your english.

translator please

Originally posted by jubby
translator please

Translated from SOMEONE ELSES POST:

How on earth do you imagine I feel, then, attending Notre Dame, where the ties cost upwards of ten English pounds? If that wasn't wretched enough, the jumper costs thirty pounds, taking the total cost to forty pounds, not to mention the trousers, shirts and shoes! It wouldn't trouble me so were it appeasing to the eye, and not that ghastly shade of green! We are reprimanded for not affixing our ties in the correct manner, and we're not permitted to go 'sans sweatshirt' unless that so called 'smily face' is displayed in the window! In my honest opinion, chaps, my educational establishment is completely ridiculous.

Originally posted by kathythebean
How on earth do you imagine I feel, then, attending Notre Dame, where the ties cost upwards of ten English pounds? If that wasn't wretched enough, the jumper costs thirty pounds, taking the total cost to forty pounds, not to mention the trousers, shirts and shoes! It wouldn't trouble me so were it appeasing to the eye, and not that ghastly shade of green! We are reprimanded for not affixing our ties in the correct manner, and we're not permitted to go 'sans sweatshirt' unless that so called 'smily face' is displayed in the window! In my honest opinion, chaps, my educational establishment is completely ridiculous.

Wow!!! Do you read hieroglyphics as well?

I thought he/she was speaking in tongues.:confused:

Originally posted by kathythebean
It wouldn't trouble me so were it appeasing to the eye, and not that ghastly shade of green!

Hey, it's a school not a fashion parade!

Just to make it clear, I was translating what someone else said! I havent owned a school uniform in years!

Yes I do also translate heiroglyphics (why not?!)

I think kathy was just translating this for us alch.............

ow da hell do u fink i feel i go to bklumin notre dame dea ties r a tenner!!! da jumpa is £30 tht £40 pound wit out trousers shoes nd shirts!!! i wunt mid if it wo nice buts bludy boogey green! we get dun 4 not avin our tie up 2 our collas! were not loud 2 take our mingin jumpas off unless da stupid smily face is hanging out of the window! i mean a yellow smily face i personally fink out skool take da mick!


Edit: kathy just beat me to it.

Originally posted by kathythebean

Yes I do also translate heiroglyphics (why not?!)

It was a light hearted comment...but seriously now, can you translate them?

Making sense of the gibberish makes me think you must be able to.:P

Hehe, saxon, no I can't do heiroglyphics (I could pretend to if someone was paying!), but I do have younger relatives, I spend a lot of time on the internet, listen to lots of hip-hop and do some voluntary work with the 'yoot', which is where I get my linguistic expertise from :)

Originally posted by kathythebean
Just to make it clear, I was translating what someone else said! I havent owned a school uniform in years!

Yes I do also translate heiroglyphics (why not?!)

Sorry Kathy I wasn't blaming or accusing you! It obviously looked like I was!

Well done for translating it, Altavista Babelfish doesn't have Chav --> English yet!

Originally posted by kathythebean
How on earth do you imagine I feel, then, attending Notre Dame, where the ties cost upwards of ten English pounds? If that wasn't wretched enough, the jumper costs thirty pounds, taking the total cost to forty pounds, not to mention the trousers, shirts and shoes! It wouldn't trouble me so were it appeasing to the eye, and not that ghastly shade of green! We are reprimanded for not affixing our ties in the correct manner, and we're not permitted to go 'sans sweatshirt' unless that so called 'smily face' is displayed in the window! In my honest opinion, chaps, my educational establishment is completely ridiculous.

Welcome to the real world, this is how much things cost in the real world. Ties are belive or not for the cheaper end about ten english pounds...

My sister-in-law was looking to save money on the school prices for her kids and found that it not much cheaper in the high street, or even on the web...

hi I AM NOT A chav!!! neva av been neva will b i jst type like dis coz its quicker!i wont ever wear trakies nd a high pony i am never violence in fact i hate violence. i dnt mess da teachas bout! i am infact a good girl and i can type properly if i want 2 nd! after all i got a b in my english mock exams! do any of u kno ow much greif we get for goin 2 notre dame? 2 years ago we had a brick thrown at our bus window! 1 lad was rushed 2 hospital nd anufa scared all because we look posher than the others. we didnt do any thing to the another skool they just thought it was fun! i didnt find it funny nor did the lad who got the brick to the back of the head and you wonder we hate our uniform

(For jesslicker)
well i fukin h8 mi unifrm 2.it got green init man wiv da black troosaz n da polo shrt wich cn b grey,blak or wite. It's propa mingin man, I fink dat it shud b abolishid n **** cos it crap init.
We lux like da Notre peeps but wez da Braddy Kids man, n da Myers propa hate us init!


I don't particularly like my uniform, the colour isn't too nice (green sweater, with black, white or grey tops, black trousers (no denim) and plain black trousers with no logos)
I can see why schools have uniforms but I think it's a bit daft when they send pupils home, just because they have to wear white trainers as their other ones aren't in the right condition.

Childhood is about a certain element of rebellion (and always has been, despite the old gits some grow into). The benefit and import point about school uniforms is that it gives school kids a nice safe form of rebellion. Kids testing the lines by wearing slightly inappropriate clothing, allows them that rebellion with out really hurting anybody.

If you take away smaller rules such as ‘school uniforms’ than kids will always just find bigger and worse things to do wrong: i.e crime, drugs and stupid ringtones.

Generally kids need rules to break. People working with kids will know what I mean.

Originally posted by jesslicker
hi I AM NOT A chav!!! neva av been neva will b i jst type like dis coz its quicker!i wont ever wear trakies nd a high pony i am never violence in fact i hate violence. i dnt mess da teachas bout! i am infact a good girl and i can type properly if i want 2 nd! after all i got a b in my english mock exams! do any of u kno ow much greif we get for goin 2 notre dame? 2 years ago we had a brick thrown at our bus window! 1 lad was rushed 2 hospital nd anufa scared all because we look posher than the others. we didnt do any thing to the another skool they just thought it was fun! i didnt find it funny nor did the lad who got the brick to the back of the head and you wonder we hate our uniform

If you can type propaly then do so.

It may be quicker to type like a text message, but us intelligent people it takes longer to decipher the post. Would you write a letter like the above? NO so don't post like it either

the thing with school uniforms is that they are there to make the kids look smart and all the same. Its meant to stop kids getting bullied because they dont wear all the latest trendy stuff or the "right trainers".

but in reallity most kids still end up looking scruffy! and the "popular" kids always end up "adapting" their uniforms to look "better" and kids still get bullied for not wearing the "better" uniforms!

and the kids who go to schools that make them wear "posh" uniforms with blazers n such end up getting bullied by the kids from the not-so-posh schools!

For parents though uniforms are great, they may cost more than normal clothes but @ least it stops their "normal" clothes from getting ruined in thje playground!

Parents complain about the cost of uniforms but think about it this way, do your kids wear designer or "named" clothes? if they do it'll probably cost more buying them those clothes through out the year when they've worn them out coz they get worn everyday at school than if they wear a school uniform.

so in the end theres enough good points as bad points about uniforms. they will never be loved!

Marlcliffe Primary have just asked the parents and we voted for uniform. It will be compulsary wef september but enforcing it will be a difficult task.

I already send my kids in the optional school uniform now... they hate it.

my sisters go to a school without a uniform and the kind of things that they wear is unbelievable some of the girls at thier school look like they are going clubbing. - saying that though i went to a school with a uniform and to be honest i hated it. atleast now at thier school you can hardly tell the differnce between the rich and the poor with what they wear. i think that not having a uniform in some schools is a good idea. we are not the richest of families by a long way but for me it is easier to buy them clothes which they can wear at the weekends and to school then having a differnt set of clothes for the weekends and holidays and i differnt set for school.

Ok, since I started putting my kids in uniform the washing has halved! Fabulous. No arguments about what to wear, they come in, kit off, in the machine dry for morning.

i wont ever wear trakies nd a high pony

Wow, you're allowed to take your horse to school? That is posh!

:D :D :D

And, back on topic, I think uniforms are a terrible idea. I wholeheartedly agree with the person who said kids will find reasons to be horrible to each other no matter what they are wearing.

And why, in the name of all that is logical, does it matter if kids look 'smart' or not? My housemate, who is going through the torture of teacher training at the moment, tells me that approximately the first 10 minutes of a lesson is spent telling children to put ties on, discard chewing gum etc, when it should be spent teaching! It puts both teachers and pupils in a bad mood - a terrible way to start a lesson.

Wow, you're allowed to take your horse to school? That is posh!

nice come back shine and i do agree about it putting teachers in a bad mood as well as us so called stroppy teenagers

Originally posted by Shine
i wont ever wear trakies nd a high pony

Wow, you're allowed to take your horse to school? That is posh!

:D :D :D

And, back on topic, I think uniforms are a terrible idea. I wholeheartedly agree with the person who said kids will find reasons to be horrible to each other no matter what they are wearing.

And why, in the name of all that is logical, does it matter if kids look 'smart' or not? My housemate, who is going through the torture of teacher training at the moment, tells me that approximately the first 10 minutes of a lesson is spent telling children to put ties on, discard chewing gum etc, when it should be spent teaching! It puts both teachers and pupils in a bad mood - a terrible way to start a lesson.

Well if parents taught the kid to respect people first it would only take one asking if that.

Uniforms make the kids look smart and that they belong. I didn't have a uniform, but was in the ACF and took pride in my uniform which I cared for myself and me and my mates won many a drill compition and part of this was due to standard of care in the uniform.

just as a small aside to the uniform question.
how many people on here dress like a slob for work ?
or for going out on a sturday night?
you should take pride in your appearance - one day you may be a parent who's opinion is reflected by the school governors & may influence uniforms.

Originally posted by willman
just as a small aside to the uniform question.
how many people on here dress like a slob for work ?
or for going out on a sturday night?
you should take pride in your appearance - one day you may be a parent who's opinion is reflected by the school governors & may influence uniforms.

That is an excellent summary, I agree :thumbsup: .

For the people who were asking about Ecclesfield comp, they have their own website and contact lists HERE (http://www.esvc.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm)

And for JessLICKER, you have certainly been licking something.
I hope you don't write applications for jobs in that silly Chav language, unless of course you apply to Mc Donalds. :loopy:

Originally posted by jesslicker
2 years ago we had a brick thrown at our bus window! 1 lad was rushed 2 hospital nd anufa scared all because we look posher than the others. we didnt do any thing to the another skool they just thought it was fun! i didnt find it funny nor did the lad who got the brick to the back of the head and you wonder we hate our uniform

I went to your school twenty odd years ago Jesslicker and things were pretty much the same; fighting between Notre Dame, Tapton, King Teds and All Saints, it was a fairley common occurrence. I can't remember bricks through bus windows but we still had beatings and (although very rare) stabbings. Nothing changes. I think you'd still get the tribal mentality between schools whatever you wore, the uniform just makes it easier to distinguish between rivals. The fights would still happen, people just wouldn't know it was between rival schools.