School uniform is a topic that carries much controversy. Here in London, most secondary schools have a uniform, to avoid peer pressure due to the beauty standards and designer brands of today, and for students to take pride in their school, however something students question every day is, just how strict should schools be on uniform policies? Every day, students receive detentions for uniform infringements, and many of these students think that many of these instances do not deserve detentions. 

 

Through a survey I carried out, I found that 50 out of the total 51 students attending a secondary school in south London agreed that secondary schools can be too strict with their uniform policies. When asked how many had received detentions, 32 out of the 42 people who responded to the questionnaire said they had a detention for their uniform at some point. There were a range of responses as to why they had received detentions, however the most frequent response was “skirt being too short.” For girls, this seems to be one of the most prominent issues to do with uniform, as the teachers and the students probably have different definitions of what ‘too short’ is.

 

So where do students think the line should be drawn on detentions? Are detentions for uniform deserved, and in what circumstances? Upon asking, a number of responses were obtained. Deepika, a secondary student in south east London, said, “No, I don’t think you deserve negatives, or any sort of punishment if I choose to have my skirt above my knee or to my ankles that’s my choice.” Another student said, “only after you had worn uniform wrong multiple times,” which will allow students a chance to correct their mistakes if they wish to do so. Another opinion that kept coming up was “they should sometimes, depends on what it’s for - like, if someone’s skirt is extremely short, but not for earrings or small things like that.”

 

In any case, teachers and students should be able to work together to make school a more enjoyable environment, for both sides. Students don’t have much room to drastically change or alter their uniform, so shouldn’t they be able to wear it however they feel comfortable, as long as there are no major altercations? This is one of the most controversial questions in the classroom, and I will leave you with it to decide for yourself.