I've never 'got'

Bullying and classism is worse here because we are an incredibly spiteful, classist and all-round cunty country. Imagine how much worse the bullying and classism would be if everyone wore their own clothes to school. It was bad enough on non-school uniform days, can’t imagine how hideous that would have been spread across the course of a whole school year.

Broadly speaking I’m in favour, as it cuts out some of the above and also makes it easy to deal with the logistics of getting your kid to school. Schools that get mega hung up and fussy about it can gtfo tho.

I didn't go there but I used to knock about with a few people that went to Stantonbury school in Milton Keynes in the late 80's.

No uniform, wear what they wanted and all the teachers were called by their first names! Madness!

Sunrise promoter Tony Colston-Hayter was a pupil I believe....

Covid.

Never got it. I think I'm the only person I know who didn't.

It’s bad on non-uniform days because of the pressure of performing on one occasion.

It’s absolute rot that uniform is a leveller. You can still tell who the nerds are, who the rich and poor kids are, who the cool kids are.

I’m agnostic because there is no conclusive evidence whether uniform produces better educational or emotional outcomes for kids, so it’s this:

Schools that get mega hung up and fussy about it can gtfo tho.

That bothers me. Schools using precious resources on something there is no evidence makes a difference means they’re diverted away from things that definitely do make a difference.

See also that Mitchell and Webb sketch I can’t find about fucking meaningless school slogans ‘where excellence is a habit’ etc.

There's still time!

It's quite possible / probable that you did, but were entirely asymptomatic.

Although it's obvs an Illuminati hoax.

Schools that get mega hung up and fussy about it can gtfo tho

There's a small, vocal group of parents at our primary that want a stricter uniform. BEeCaUse itS sMarTEr.

Fuck off you chodes. They're 5 & 6 year olds. They're covered in jam and mud.

Something like this sketch?

https://youtu.be/ApvLnY4GJqU

It was on the radio show I think, so I bet it was the predecessor of that.

I actually reckon a big company who embraced this honesty would be respected and would do well.

Foxtons. We want to aggressively sell as many houses as we can for as much as possible. This is good for you as well as us.

Butlins. Give us a go you fucking snob. You might just realise your middle class dream is a sham and Center Parcs is fucking rubbish.

Etc.

Yeah fuck that, stricter also means more expensive which is a no go

I don’t think anyone thinks uniforms are a complete leveller it’s just one less area for a kid to feel bad about or get picked on. Rich and spoilt kids will still fault it via their shoes or football boots or whatever.

bullying and classism is far worse here than in the American and Canadian school system

There are some contrary views on that. Historically, I'd have said that U.S. school culture has some of its own conventions (school proms, a significantly higher emphasis on competitive sports) that create their own conformist orthodoxies which are ripe sources of bullying. Historically, because some of those things are now being copied over here. The U.S. education culture also preserves some unfortunate school-age concepts into higher education (exemplified by fraternities/sororities) that can make people feel still trapped in school culture where U.K. universities are more often an opportunity to escape that and reinvent yourself.

You can see some of the experiences and attitudes that led to Incel culture in that linked Slashdot article and the responses.

This country's weird obsession with school uniforms. Grim.

See also, the one and only shop in the town/city which sells the extortionate uniform with the required school emblem.

see also, having to wear cotton shirts and trousers in June/July.

My kid’s school is very flexible about not having to have the school logo stuff, so long as the colour is in the right ballpark.

Sadly, they did not advertise this flexibility until after we had forked out for all the expensive school logo stuff. Waaaah.

Sadly, they did not advertise this flexibility until after we had forked out for all the expensive school logo stuff. Waaaah.

At least you know it will fit for a long time and totally wont get ruined in the playground.

See also, the one and only shop in the town/city which sells the extortionate uniform with the required school emblem.

Didn't they just change the government guidelines for this so they have to be available from discounted stores as well?
My kids school just ditched their maroon jumpers for blue so you can get plain ones in asda - you don't need the badge - and at the start of the year they gave everyone two embroided sets of uniform for free to get started with.

We just don't buy logo stuff.

In fairness, we just don't buy new stuff.

Almost every item of school clothing is from the second hand sales.

Which kind of goes for all clothing. I love a good charity shop trawl.

I've never 'got' - why people buy new clothes for small kids (although I obviously benefit from it down the line).

Foxtons. We want to aggressively sell as many houses as we can for as much as possible. This is good for you as well as us.

Butlins. Give us a go you fucking snob. You might just realise your middle class dream is a sham and Center Parcs is fucking rubbish.

There was a whole film about with that premise in the 80s: the Dudley Moore classic "Crazy People."

Marmite kind of did it with the "I Hate" campaign

I remember that being brilliant. No idea if it's aged well.

What was the Volvo slogan again?
TRIGGER WARNING for 99% of lfgssers

Something like

they look like shit but you're family won't die in a crash

Dudley Moore

loved her in Ghost etc

"Sure, they're boxy. But they're good."

Also the Jag ads about men who want handjobs is pretty strong.

Didn't they just change the government guidelines for this so they have to be available from discounted stores as well?
My kids school just ditched their maroon jumpers for blue so you can get plain ones in asda - you don't need the badge - and at the start of the year they gave everyone two embroided sets of uniform for free to get started with.

That's great! We home school, which is probably why I didn't know. I distinctly remember the annual ordeal as a kid.

My kids school tried to change its uniform after they’d been there a couple of years. They were going to make it non-generic and farm the production out to a specific supplier so no more badges sewn on to Tesco blazers. The cost went through the roof and there was a massive uproar from the parents so it was dropped. I would guess the Head was a bit miffed their dodgy back room deal for a percentage of the sales backfired.

Can't speak for the States but I defo approach this from a 'parent' standpoint. It's a good leveller. School has one badged cardigan which is £11.50 new (we have most of them second hand) and everything else can be bought cheap from supermarkets. They run a secondhand uniform sale once a year as well where you can grab a few bits for pennies. Defintely appreciate it as a leveller and avoiding morning clothing arguments with an opinionated 6yo.

Yeah it’s also magically immune to getting lost, worth every penny