Figure 1.--All of the boys wear the school blazer and tie. The boy at the left appears to be the only one wearing long trousers. We are not sure why that was, but some of the boys in the back rows may be wearing longs also. I'm not sure what would have promted the quizacal look on the face of the boy on the right. |
HBC has not yet been able to identify this school. We believe it was an English grammar school. All we know for sure is that the photograph was taken in 1964. An examination of the photograph provides some details about the uniform regulations at the
school. The students wear dark blazers, although we are not sure about the colors. Al but one boy wears short trousers and kneesocks. The fact that almost all the students are wearing the full uniform with short trousers suggests that the regulations were strictly enforced. We do not know why the one boy wears long trousers.
The one thing we know about this photograph was that it was taken in 1964. HBC was not sure just when during the year the school photograph was taken. Generally at English schools the class photograph is taken during the end of the year in May or June, but there is no way of being sure about this. A old boy from another school reports that his school portraits were in fact usually taken at the beginning of the year in October.
The boys at a grammar school were organized in forms (grades) following the system at public schools. The youngest boys were the form 1 new entrants.
The photograph appears to show the new boys at a grammar school. At the beginning of the year they would be mostly be 11 years old. As the year progressed there would have been a mixture of 11 and 12 year olds. By the end of the year the boys are mostly 12 years old. Boys admitted to a grammar school are the academically capable boys who did well on the 11+ exam which they took in their last year of primary school. That would mean they mostly come from middle-class families that could not afford to send the boys to private schools. These boys do look to be about 11-12, although at least one boy looks a bit older.
We have no information on other schools at this time.
This school portrait shows the boys wearing a traditional uniform of a dark blazer with the school badge or crest. I'm not sure what clor blazer. The boys wear white shirts, ties, and grey trousers. All but one of the Form 1 boys in the front row short trousers. All but three of the boys wear grey kneesocks with the school color bands. All but one of the boys black leather shoes. The previous year in primary school, some of these boys probably wore sandals.
Figure 2.--Most of the boys in shorts wear kneesocks with the school colors in top bands. Several boys, however, also wear plain grey kneesocks. Many boys wear a grey "V"-neck weater with school color neck trim. |
The boys here all wear the school blazer. It was common in the 1950sm especially the early 1950s, for a few boys in each form to wear a blazer or suit jacket that was similar to the school blazer, but not the actual approved blazer. This was probably because of the difficult economic conditions following the war. By the 1960s, like these boys, it was quite common to see all the new boys decked out in the complete school uniform.
Many of the boys wear grey sweaters, although it is difficult to tell because the boys all have their jackets buttoned up. The boys that are wearing sweaters all seem to be wearing the same "V"-neck sweater with collar trim in the school colors, the same as the klneesock trim.
HBC is not sure what the school rule was about trousers. All but one of the boys in the front row wears short trousers. We do not know what the boys in the back rows are wearing. It may be that all the boys in shortd have been placed in front, although we do not know why this would be. At least one of tde boys in the back rows does appear to be wearing long trousers. Also note that many of the boys are wearing longish, in some cases baggy shorts. The mid-1960s was when shorter cut Continental styled shirts began to become more fashionable in Britain
The school clearly had a requirement to wear kneesocks. The boys wearing short trousers at this school wore grey kneesocks with two colored bands, the school colors at the top. Presumably the darker color is the same as the blazer. Again we are not sure about the actual colors. The school obviously allowed the boys to wear plain grey kneesocks as option.
Caps were compulsory for junior boys at almost all grammar schools in the 1950s. The caps were normally the same color as the blazer. By the 1960s, many schools were dropping the cap rule, but they were still relatively common for 1st and 2nd Form boys in 1964.
As was the case of many grammar schools, it is apparent from these photographs that the school very strictly enforced the rules on uniforms. Each of the boys is carefully togged out in the uniform. Not one boy has turned up without the blazer or tie. The boys wearing sweaters have the regulation color neck trim. All this suggsts that the uniform regulation was strictly enforced. The only variance HBC notes is the trouser lengths and the kneesocks. While the school was fairly strict about the uniform in general, it dors not appear to be enforcing a rule requiring the form 1 boys to wear shorts. Note that no boy is wearing ankle socks or other than grey colored socks. However a few boys wear kneesocks other than the regulation kneesocks with the correct color band. The regulation kneesocks appears to be a two-color band, including yellow.
The boys all seem to have standard hair cuts. One boy here has rather hair-raising hair cut. Grammar schools often had rules about hair styles and enforced them. This was about the time that boys began wanting to wear longer haor styles.
Figure 3.--The boys all seem to have standard hair cuts. One boy here has rather hair-raising hair cut. The confident-looking boy at the right in the second row appears to be wearing long trousers. Notice how long and baggy the one boy's shorts are. |
Contributions from English readers suggest that boys had mixed opinions about short trousers, as they call them. Some boys didn't like them as they were a badge of boyhood. They would badger their parents for a pair of longs. Other boys weren't really bothered. Some boys report that their mothers bought them long trousers without even being asked. Some boys complained that shorts were uncomfortable in the cold weather. In fact modern English boys wouldn't think about wearing shorts in the winter.
HBC pages on school uniforms at other comparable schools help to put the uniform at this school in perspective.
An English HBC contributor reports that "... short trousers on English and European boys were such a given when I was a kid in the '50's. It seemed they all wore them until they were about 14 years old. American kids had mostly abandoned them by 7-8 years. So it surprises me to see that in 1961, only half the 11-12 year olds are in them. Changes must have been well under way even then." Images at Harrow show that all the first year boys wore shorts. There were no exceptions for the taller boys.
An English HBC contributor reports, "I know when I first moved to London in 1964 that the local catholic school had all the first year boys in short trousers. Almost all of the second year boys when shorts became optional chose long trousers. There may have been a few second year boys wearing shorts, almost certainly because their parents insisted, but there were not very many."
A decade later the changes mentioned above can be clearly seen at another grammar school. Almost all the boys were wearing long pants in 1972. At least one of the first year boys, however, was still wearing short pants.
A still unanswered question is whether selevtice education (like the grammar school) or comprehensives are more effectice. This debate is beyond the capabilities of HBC. One old boy at another grammar school points out in a 1962 portrait of his class, "The group of boys in the 1962 photo grew up to include two professors, a judge, several lawyers and an author of 18 books!"
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer
[School sandals