Dressed to impress

How will schools and parents respond to Government calls to reinstate uniforms? Hester Lacey reports

School uniform has recently acquired a champion in the form of Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. When Mr Clarke last month announced the Government's five-year plan to reform comprehensive schools, one rather retro element of the strategy caused universal surprise.

The 108-page paper said that ministers would "expect" every school to have a uniform. "School uniforms help to define the ethos of a school and the standards expected," it said. "They help give pupils pride in their school and make them ambassadors for their community." So are we about to see a revival of blazers and boaters, knee socks and jolly hockey sticks? Probably not; for school uniform has moved on since the days of gym tunics and knickerbockers. Teachers and parents between them have worked out far more practical compromises between smart and functional.

Mike Best joined Beaminster School in Dorset as head teacher in 2000. One of the first things he did was to overhaul the uniform and ditch its more stuffy elements. "When I came to the school, the uniform was blazers, shirts and ties - except that the students didn't wear the ties or tuck in their shirts," he recalls. "Changing from the public school model caused a stir. Ties and blazers were once seen as the sign of a 'good' school. But our school is already good, so we didn't need that symbol. Uniform needs to reflect a school's place in the community." The boys and girls at Beaminster School, a 700-strong comprehensive with an excellent academic and pastoral record, are a colourful lot these days.

There are five houses in the school, and, over plain black trousers or skirt, the pupils wear a polo shirt in the colour that corresponds to their house: red, green, purple, dark blue and light blue. "We have very few issues over uniform now," says Best. "The criteria we used when we looked at the design were individuality, comfort, cost and appropriateness."

There are a number of benefits to wearing a uniform, he says; a feeling of unity and identity is just the first. "Uniform is a leveller and prevents extravagance. And dressing well and smartly does increase your confidence. I would feel very odd if I didn't wear a suit to school."

There is no such thing, he believes, as a universally "right" uniform. "It depends on the culture within which a school is working. But there is no point in having a uniform if you don't enforce it. You need to treat everybody the same. You need to be very clear about the reasons for what you are doing and the spirit of what you do."

Malcolm Lloyd, head teacher of Brymore School in Cannington, Somerset, agrees. "If you are going to have a uniform, everyone has to stick to it. It's hopeless if you allow grey areas. We don't give an inch, even down to wearing white socks rather than black or grey. It may sound reactionary, but I'm not opposed to telling someone that they have to do something and then sticking to it."

Brymore is a state boarding school for 200 boys aged 13 to 17 and specialises in rural technology. It boasts a working organic farm with cattle, sheep and pigs, an acre of walled garden, substantial glasshouses and a workshop complex with engineering lathes, a foundry, forges and a computerised control technology room.

The boys wear black trousers, a grey shirt in years 9 and 10, a white shirt from year 11, a school sweatshirt, plain black shoes, a black blazer and a school tie with a house stripe in green, blue or red. For PE, they need gym shoes, shorts and vests plus rugby jersey and boots. Overalls and wellies are correct for the cowshed.

The basic Brymore uniform sounds traditionally formal, but the school has evolved a system that allows for practicality too. "We turn out in full school uniform for assembly every day," explains Lloyd. "Then in normal lessons the boys wear open-necked shirts and sweatshirts, and they can wear their own clothes once the school day is finished. On important occasions when they are representing the school they wear full uniform, but the rest of the time it's simple, neat, functional clothes that are the same for everyone. We don't expect the boys to wear a blazer and tie in the workshops."

Brymore parents may shop at any high street store they wish to and, as in many schools that have a uniform, there is a scheme for selling on second-hand items. "Uniform is not dictated by fashion or high prices," says Lloyd.

Fallibroome High School in Macclesfield, Cheshire, a foundation school with 1,450 pupils, has similarly worked out its own original approach. Up to the age of 16, pupils wear trousers or skirt, shirt, tie, blazer and badge, in the school's signature bottle green. Games kit is shorts and rugby top for boys, pleated skirt and monogrammed polo for girls. But at sixth-form level, uniform is abandoned.

This doesn't mean a sudden descent into scruffiness, however. In consultation with pupils, the school has worked out a sixth-form "dress code" which satisfies both the need for smartness and the desire for individuality. "We have had long debates over sixth-form dress, and the code we have now is based around dressing as you would for a professional job," explains assistant head teacher Bernard Hurst. "Jeans are not allowed. In September when the school goes back, the sixth form are in pristine suits and often look smarter than the staff! They appreciate being treated in a more adult fashion, and the overall impression in the sixth-form common room is very businesslike and focused."

Not all teachers agree with school uniform, however. The popular Tetherdown Primary School in Muswell Hill - one of only 142 in the country to be awarded a perfect score in the national tests for 11-year-olds this summer - has no uniform. "We have a very distinctive ethos," says Evelyn Pittman, head teacher at Tetherdown, which was ranked as the joint highest-achieving community school in the country. "There is no uniform, and I have just two rules: respect yourself and respect other people." Some teachers actively dislike uniform. "What does it achieve?" asks one teacher at a boys' secondary in south London. "So much time is spent on making sure ties are tied, shirts are tucked in, that the boys aren't wearing trainers. It's such a waste of energy. Kids want to show they're individuals and wearing a uniform doesn't help with learning. Children have to be comfortable before they can learn."

Currently, there is no legislation that deals specifically with wearing school uniform. Individual governing bodies decide whether there should be a uniform, and what it should consist of. The most recent DfES guidelines, published in June this year, suggest a uniform that is not costly and that is available off-the-peg rather than from designated suppliers. There is, as yet, no suggestion that the law will be changed to insist on uniforms, but the new government plan clearly indicates that uniforms will be "expected".

"I think this is a political stunt," says Beaminster School's Mike Best. "I agree that schools need an identity in the community, and my own view is that schools should always have a uniform of sorts, but I am worried about schools being told what to do and the idea that one rule fits all."

"I don't like somebody saying, 'This is what you must do'," says Malcolm Lloyd of Brymore School. "I would say to any fellow head that uniform works here and if it works for you, fine, but if not, don't be dictated to."

What do parents think? Liz Robertson is a fan of her son Jake's school uniform. "Wearing a uniform separates school and home and you don't get competition or snobbery if everyone is wearing the same," she says. "I also think teaching children to dress smartly prepares them for later life."

Jake, 13, wears black trousers and blazer, white shirt, black shoes and school tie at Sturminster Newton High School in Dorset. "It's economical because we can shop around where we want," says his mother. "Marks & Spencer do a very reasonably priced blazer and you can throw it in the washing machine and then bung it on a hanger to dry. At Jake's prep school, the blazer was dry-clean only, which cost a fortune over the years. Trainers are a definite no-no and I'm all for that - I think it's bad for the feet to be in trainers all day. I don't think I'd like to put a child into a school with no uniform."

Andrew Purvis's son and daughter went to a London primary school with no uniform policy. "I would never choose a school on the basis of whether or not it had a uniform," he says. "It would be like taking a job because you liked the pattern of the office carpet. How can uniform be important? I don't think children react well to being put in a straitjacket. When I went to school I had to wear a charcoal, pin-striped suit and I hated it. What's most important about school is not even the academic emphasis, it's the pastoral care. Schools need the capacity to turn children into caring, thinking citizens and that's what my children's schools have done. Uniform doesn't even enter the equation."

Policies on religious dress: A Europe-wide controversy

One of the most controversial issues about dressing for school has led to demonstrations across Europe. The decision of the French government to ban "conspicuous religious symbols" in state schools, including the hijab (Islamic headscarf), caused a storm of protest. The French government approved the bill in January of this year, and Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are likely to bring in similar legislation.

Even before the bill was passed, a number of Muslim schoolgirls in France were expelled for insisting on wearing the hijab. In 1905, France passed a law requiring the separation of church and state, and thus school is seen as no place for overt religious affirmations. France is home to Europe's largest Muslim population (eight million). Muslim leaders say the ban is discriminatory.

In the UK, official guidelines say that, while pupils must adhere to a school's uniform policy, schools must be sensitive to the needs of different cultures, races and religions. The DfES expects schools to accommodate these needs within a general uniform policy.

In June of this year, the case of a 15-year-old Muslim schoolgirl who felt her school's policy on religiously significant dress was not sufficiently flexible reached as far as the High Court before it was dismissed.

Shabina Begum from Luton claimed that Denbigh High School was denying her "right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs" when she was told she could not wear her jilbab (ankle-length Islamic gown) in the classroom. Begum missed two years of school while the case dragged on. Mr Justice Bennett said that the dress policy the school applies to Muslim girl pupils is "a reasoned, balanced, proportionate policy". Muslim girls at Denbigh High School are allowed to wear shalwar kameez (trousers and tunic) if they wish.