Why We Should Abolish School Uniform

525 Words3 Pages
Dear Mr Lloyd, I would like to present to you my case for abolishing school uniform and explain to you why as a pupil I feel school uniform should not be mandatory. We all have a right to individuality, to make personal choices and to express our personality. This right of free expression includes the way we choose to dress. Making everyone wear the same school uniform infringes on our rights and is a misuse of authority. We should have the right to choose what to wear to express our personality and as a way of learning to make choices about our lives. There is no quantifiable evidence that links school uniform to improved results and academic success. Making pupils into clones in uncomfortable and often inappropriate attire to certain activities will inhibit our learning as we will be distracted. Uniform is often not practical or pleasant to wear. Designs are often old-fashioned and not aesthetically pleasing. Clothes that are designed to be worn by all shapes and sizes fit no one really well. For cheapness uniform items are often made of poly-cottons which are hot in warm weather but don’t keep you warm in winter. Uniforms can actually lead to violence occurring, as they make pupils from rival schools much more obvious in the street or on the bus. Bullying and fighting between pupils from different schools can increase if one pupil is jealous of the other attending a better school. Forcing pupils to wear uniform can ignore their religious and cultural needs. For example, Sikh boys, Orthodox Jews and Islamic girls all express their religious beliefs through the way they dress, and uniform stops them doing this. Taking away this freedom of religious expression can also lead parents to choose private faith schools, limiting integration and the mixing of different cultures. Uniforms are expensive and can be hard for parents to afford - it is like a
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