Figure 1.--This photograph shows how children at St. Patrick's Primary School dressed in 1971. This looks like one class at the school, probably the 10 year olds.
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Figure 1.--This photograph shows how children at St. Patrick's Primary School dressed in 1971. This looks like one class at the school, probably the 10 year olds. |
Scotland is predominately Protestant, but there are a number of Catholic schools--especially in the Glasgow area because of
the Irish imigrants. Scottish primary schools began introducing uniforms in the 1960s. Not all schools did so, but most catholic
schools did. I'm not positive when the Catholic schools introduced uniforms, but they appear, like St. Patricks, to all have basic
uniforms by the 1970s.
St. Patrick's is located at Greenock in Scotland. It is a few miles from Glasgow. Glasgow has a particularly large Irish population, probably second only to Liverpool in the United Kingdom and as a result there are quite a few Catholic schools.
A Scottish primary school is a state school. It would be called an elementary or grade school in the United States. These schools were coeducational, working with both boys and girls. Catholic schools in Scotland are somewhat different than in the United States. The Scottish Catholic schools are more integrated into the state system and receive crucial government financing. With a name like St Patrick's it is almost certainly a church school and in Scotland I think
that almost certainly means a Catholic school. I don't know of any protestant church schools in Scotland.
A Scottish primary school is for chilren about 6-11 years. Children from this school would move on to seconary school at about age 11 years. The children in this 1971 photograph look to be about 10 years old. I'm not sure what form this would have been or indeed even if the class is called a form.
Figure 2.--The boys wear the standard British school uniform of grey shirts, stripped ties, grey shirts, plain grey kneesocks, and black lace-up shoes. |
Scottish primarily through the 1950s did not generally require uniforms, this was the case for both state schools and church schools like Catholic schools. Many schools adopted uniforms in the 1960s. This was especially true of the Catholic schools which appear to have all adopted school uniforms.
Some Scottish primary schools in the 1960s began requiring uniforms. This was especially true of Catholic schools, although HBC is not sure when uniforms were first required. HBC is also uncure to what extent uniforms were mandated by Church authorities or were left to the disgression of individual schools. As they were adopted at virtually all schools, it seems to be a decission made by church authorities rather than an option left to each individual school. The uniform styles adopted were standard British school uniforms, but basically simple without blazers.
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]