English Grammar Schools: Personal Experiences


Figure 1.--This 12-year old English boy wears his grammar school uniform. This woulf be his first year at the school, about 1970.

Old boys at English grammar schools have provided the following memories about the uniform at their grammar school. HBC is impressed with the number of grammar school boys that have such clear memories of their schools and schoo experieces.

The 1940s-50s

I was born in 1939. I don't know whether it was the austerity of the War period and the time after the war when materials were still not available or whether it was simply that boys were still boys and not 'young men'. Today we seem to go out of our way to make boys them seem older--in my view, todays' modern fashions are simply a way to get them to spend more on clothes and other fashion accessories. The market rules not parents. I attended an all boy grammar school.

The 1950s

I am a 50 year old Englishman born and brought up in the home counties (London area). My schooldays were between 1952 and 1964 which was a period during which changes were afoot influencing the way boys dressed. These were slowly happening in the 1950's and accelerated after about 1963 but they did not affect me. I attended a grammar school.

The 1950s: A council and secondary modern

I was born in 1939. I don't know whether it was the austerity of the Warperiod and the time after the war when materials were still not available or whether it was simply that boys were still boys and not 'young men'. Today we seem to go out of our way to make boys them seem older--in my view, todays' modern fashions are simply a way to getthem to spend more on clothes and other fashion accessories. The marketrules not parents.

The 1950s: Working-class family

My family was thrifty,working class. My mum did not work and so was at home all the time to look after us. As a boy growing up during the early 1950's in southeastern England (Kent) ,I don't remember being clothes conscious. In fact I don't think boys in general gave a great deal of thought to clothes, unlike boys today.

The 1950s-60s: A Polish father

I am a British male in my forties. I have a Polish surname because my father came from Poland during WWII. My mother is English. Looking at your site about British boys' clothing brought back memories for me; not all of them happy because of the very traditional atitude of my parents.

The 1950s-60s: Grey flannels

I am a 50 year old Englishman born and brought up in the home counties (London area). My schooldays were between 1952 and 1964 which was a period during which changes were afoot influencing the way boys dressed. These were slowly happening in the 1950's and accelerated after about 1963 but they did not affect me.

The 1950s-60s: Grammar school and scouts

I grew up in Sheffield and had working class origins. There was no pushing from my parents, nor, I think, from myself--to go to the grammar school. I had a certain amount of natural ability but wasn't conscious of any particular ambition or pressure. Encouragement, but not pressure. They were quite pleasded that I earned a place at the Grammar.

The 1960s: Michael and his school uniform

When I started secondary school in the 1960's I had to wear the standard uniform of the time and of the school. It was made up of cap and blazer in navy blue,a tie of two tone blue, grey knee socks with a dark blue band at the top, black shoes and grey shorts. This was the uniform at the age of eleven and continued like this until I was thirteen and a half.

The 1960s: Grammar school boy

I attended grammar school in the 1960s. The photographs shown here were taken was 1964. My mates and I were 12 years old and attending South Shields Grammar Technical School for Boys. Our uniform was a navy blue blazer, grey trousers, dark blue and yellow tie. We had caps for the first two years from 11 years old upto 13 years. Rules about the uniform were strict at our school when we first entered school as an 11 year old but became very lax after 3/4 years. We always had to look smart coming to and leaving school which meant fastening blazer and wearing cap. In school you could never remove your jacket without permission from a member of staff. The pupils were selected (11+ exam) from about 12 primary schools. None of the primary schools in our area required a uniform.

The 1960s: A northern Grammar school boy

I was reminded of my own schooldays when it was perfectly normal for boys to wear short trousers as part of their school uniform well into secondary school. I wore them until I was nearly 14 and a few other boys wore them longer than that. The last boy in my class to switch to "longies" did so at the beginning of the fifth form. Nobody thought anything of it really.

Barry: The First Year, the 1960s

The end of primary school was a melencoly time for me and my friends. After we received the results of our 11+ exams we knew what secondary schools we were going to. We knew that we were being separated. We also knew that something good had happened to some of us and bad to others--although we were not really aware of the real consequences of this separation. I had been told that that the junior boys at our grammar schools wore short trousers. In fact the mother of one of my friends asked me if I knew about the unifom regulations. I tild her what I knew, or what I thought I knew. I then forgot about the matter. In the interim, however, short pants had been made optional at the school. So when my mother took me to buy my new school uniform I was pleasantly surprised to be outfitted in long trousers. The first day of school, I was surprised to see my friend show up in short pants and kneesocks. He was the only new boy to do so. And I can tell you that he wasn't to pleased with me. I can even recall the name of the boy who turned up in shorts--Stephen Davidson. I wonder where he is now.

The 1970s

I grew up in England during the 1970s. I was born 12 November 1961 in Northwest England. Started infants Sept 1966, moved to Juniors Sept 1969, and Grammar school Sept 1973.

The 1970s: Stephen

During the seventies the typical school appearal for junior boys was a grey school uniform,shirt,tie, v-neck jumper, short trousers and kneesocks. Until the age of 11, I wore that typical uniform. Your web site has brought back a few memories.

The 1970-80s: My short pants suit and buying school shorts

Mum dressed my brother and I the same for most of the time until I was about 10 or 11. This I hated. To look like my younger brother was so humiliating. My brother was never bothered about such unimportant things such as clothes, his mind was only on football all the time. We have become very close these days but he doesn't have many interests in life unlike me who has done many things such as kungfu instructer, glider pilot, football player and coach, plus even more... Our personalities are very differrent. He is like my dad and I am more like my mother who has to be on the go!! Unlike my father and brother who generally sit around and couldnot be bothered.

The 1970s and early 80s: Matthew

I grew up in Southern England during the mid 70s late 80s. My parents were what could best be described as "traditionalists". They were both British and traditionalists not just in terms of fashion/clothing but on a whole range of issues. From as early back as I can remember I had bare knees. In my early years this was not a problem, however, as I got older it did become one.

The 1980s

I grew up in England during the 1970s. I attended the local infant school from age 4 to 7. It was mixed, and all boys wore grey shorts, other than that therewere no uniform requirements. Girls could wear anything, but they all wore dresses or skirts. No girl ever wore trousers or shorts, it was unthinkable. The boys all wore long socks, usually grey, but sometimes patterned fawn or brown, even black. We never wore white socks, only girls wore white socks. The girls did wear tights, thick woolly things, never nylons.







Christopher Wagner





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[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer [School sandals




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Created: October 2, 1999
Last updated: October 7, 2000