Figure 1.--This photogeaph was taken in 1971. It shows the boys in blazers and short trousers and the girls in gym slip uniforms.
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Figure 1.--This photogeaph was taken in 1971. It shows the boys in blazers and short trousers and the girls in gym slip uniforms. |
Scottish and English schools have a wide variety of names. Some are misleading. Some comprehensives, for example, kept the name of the grammar schools they replaced. Academies are private schools, often comparable to private day schools. Private schools were often named academies in Scotland, but there were not very many in England. Originally Scottish academies were private schools. Today in Scotland there are academies that are private schools and others that are state schools.
Greenock is in Scotland. Greenock is on the south bank of the River Clyde (Scotland), just a few miles west of Glasgow.
The term academy has different comotations in different parts of the United Kingdom. English readers inform HBC that "academy" seems to be widely used as an alternative to "school" in Scotland and that it doesn't necessarily indicate a private school. HBC had thought it meant a private school. Certainly the origins were private secondary schools as until the 1940s there were no state secondary schools in Scotland. Greenock Academy almost certinly was established as a private school. HBC is not sjure if by 1971 it had vecome a state school. Cleatrly it had become a coeducational school.
Figure 2.--All of the boys in 1971 wear short pants and grey kneesocks. They boys weear plain grey kneesocks without colored bands. They appear to be inexpensive kneesocks which pull up to the knee, but do not have turn over tops. One boy, however, has turn over tops worn with colored garter tabs. |
At this time HBC has no information on the school, other than it had become a coeducational school.
The children in this photograph look to be the yonger children in a secondary school age from about 11/12.
The children at Greenock Academy in 1971 wear standard British school uniforms. The boys wear blazers, tie, short trousers, and kneesocks. The girls wear ties and gym slips.
The boys by 1971 probably ni longr wore caps. Caps were not very common Scotland in 1971, but a few mostly private schools probably still hd them. Even in private schools, mostly junior boys wore them.
All of the boys at Greenock Academy wear maroon blazers. The blazers have school shields. Some boys do not appear to have the shields on ther blazers, but this may just be how the photograph was taken. Only the boys wear blazers. Rge girls do not wear blazers over their gym slips.
All of the children wear white shirts. The photograph is not destinct enough to determine if the boys and girls wear distinct colar styules. No one has an open collar, as was the style in some Scottish schools. The white shirt may be their dress uniform. British children commomly wore grey shirts rather than white shirts for everyday wear.
Figure 3.--Most of the boys wear grey kneesocks. One boy, however, wears grey ankle socks. |
All of the children at Greenock wear ties. They are maroon ties with white stripes. The tie and white shirt is the only common uniform for both thre boys and girls.
AS some of the boys have buttoned up their blazers, it is hard to tell if any of the boys wore jumpers (sweaters). It does not seem that any do. The girls also are not wearing jumpers.
All of the girls wear maroon gym slips, matching the boys' blazers. Some but not all have the school crest on their gym slips.
All the boys at Greenock Academy in 1971 wore short trousers with their blazers. Many boys are in the back row, but almost certainly they also wore shorts. Clearly the school required the boys wear short trousers.
Although Greenock is a Scottish school, there is no indication that any of the boys were wearing kilts. HBC is not sure, however, if none of the boys are wearing kilts or if they just are not visible because of the way the photograph was taken. You might have thought that at least a few boys in the 1970s might wear kilts. At many Scottish schools, kilts were a permissible option. At this time HBC is nor sure if kilts would have been more or less common in the 1970s at Scottish schools. HBC can report that kilts by the 1980s were not commonly worn with blazer, but rather with tweed jackets. Presumably the same convention would pertain to the 1970s.
Figure 4.--Some of the girls wear school creasts on their blazers. Others do not. HBC is not quite sure how to explain this difference. |
Boys at Greenock wore grey kneesocks. They boys weear plain grey kneesocks without colored bands. They appear to be inexpensive kneesocks which pull up to the knee, but do not have turn over tops. One boy, however, has turn over tops worn with colored garter tabs. All of the boys wear kneesocks, except for one boy wearing grey ankle socks. It is not clear what the girls were wearing, probaly white kneesocks.
All of the boys wear black lace up shoes. None of the boys wear school sandals. As this photograph was probably taken near the end of the year when the weather had warmed (note none of the noys wear jumpers). Sandals appear to have gone out of style for boys of secondary age.
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]