The Importance of School Uniform: a Student’s Perspective

Since the charity’s inception, Uniformed has been committed to working with a variety of stakeholders involved in the provision of school uniform to help inform and improve our activities. Following the eye-opening Wrong Blazer Report, we found that children in state-maintained schools spent, on average, £337per year on secondary school uniform and £315 per year for primary school uniforms. Our previous engagements with parents reflected these figures, as they spoke of their struggles to access quality uniforms and what a difference uniform vouchers could make for them.

Teachers have also shared their experiences and thoughts with Uniformed, with many echoing statistics which state that nearly a quarter of families have had to send their children to school with ill-fitting, worn out, unclean or incorrect uniform. These teachers shared the various systems that have in place to help children, but also expressed that more help is needed.

Speaking with parents and teachers has been incredibly useful for us at Uniformed, but this week we had the amazing opportunity to speak directly with a student from Stoke (Uniformed’s pilot city). As a pupil in a state comprehensive secondary school, they shared their views on school uniform, particularly in light of the current economic climate.

According to this student, school uniform is an integral aspect of U.K schooling and it takes away the pressure of choosing an outfit for each day. Having a uniform means that they don’t have to worry about the judgement that they may face for wearing certain clothes, which is especially important when considering that wearing different clothing brands can expose inequalities in income.

Amid the rising costs of living however, the student has seen first-hand how students and families have been struggling. Peers have shared how their family feels under pressure with the rising gas prices which has created difficult conversations concerning how families will budget to afford other basic goods. This once again reflects the painful figure provided by the Wrong Blazer Report which states that more than one in five families from lower income backgrounds reported cutting back on food and other essentials due to the high cost of school uniform.

Furthermore, even though school uniform acts as an equaliser of students’ different socioeconomic background, the student explained that they still see that some students lack quality school uniform. The student cited that clothes being dirty or damaged, largely due to families not having a sufficient supply of school uniform, have been the cause of bullying at school.

Interviewing this student was incredibly insightful for us. Uniformed was created with the hope of ensuring that students are able to go to school without fear of bullying and parents do not have to sacrifice other essential or basic goods to ensure their child has a uniform. We look forward to helping even more families and making sure that no student feels disadvantaged or bullied because of their uniform.