Figure 1.--Here we see a class of Spanish boys in 1969. We do not know what school it was, but the boys look to be students at a state primary school. I thought at first they were in front of their school. It seems rather fancy for a school. We think it my be a church. Until Franco died (1975), there was a close association between the Catholic Church and state schools. Click on the image to see the boys doing their First Communion.

We do not notice school uniforms in Spain even in the 1950s after World War II, even at private schools. Smocks were worn in theearly-20th century which was a kind of uniform. The private school seen here is a good example of school wear in the 1950s. We are less sure about the situation in modern Spanish schools. Available information suggests that school smocks were very common in Spain. We do not know when Spanish school children began wearing smocks, but they seem to have been very common in the inter-war period of the 20th century. School smocks have declined in popularity after the 1960s, but are still worn at many schools--especially private schools. Here they take the form of school uniforms with required colors and styles. Franco died in 1976 and soon afterwards a new democratic government implement sweeping reforms in Spanish society and this included Spanish schools.

The 1900s

We notice Barcelona boys wearing white or light-colored school smocks in 1900. It is a little unclear, but most of the boys look to be wearing smocks. This suggests that smocks were also worn in the late-19th century, but we do not have details on just when they were introduced in Spain. This may well have been a French influence, It looks like a science class. We are not sure just what aspect of science was being taught. We notice ships in a harbor. If 1900 is correct, it was right after the Spanish-American War (1898-99) during which Spanish ships were bottled up in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba. That may have played into the lesson. And as some of the boys are wearing their caps, we get an idea about headwear as well. We are not sure just how common this was in Spain. (We are not positive about the date. It may be an estimate.) There may also have been regional differences.

The 1910s

We note a well-appointed Spanish classroom in 1910 with a blackboard and a set of maps. (We are not positive about the date. It may be an estimate.) We suspectv that this was a little better appointed classroom than most children attended. Notice the the statue of Jesus at the front of the class. We are not sure, however, if this is a state school or a Catholic school. The boys have double desks. They wear white or light-colored smocks. The school was located in Barcelona. We are not sure all Spanish children wore school smocks like this. There may well have been regional differences.

The 1920s

The 1930s

Available information suggests that school smocks were still very common in Spain. We do not know when Spanish school children began wearing smocks, but they seem to have been very common in the inter-war period of the 20th century.

The 1940s

The 1950s

We do not notice school uniforms in Spain even in the 1950s after World War II, even at private schools. We note several photographs from privates which show boys wearing a wide range of clothes to school. Short pabts were very common.

The 1960s

We do not know a great deal about school clothes in the 1960s. There were no uniforms in the state schools. We notice boys wearing collared shirts, sweaters and pants. Jean seem very popular. Here we see a primary school group in 1969 (figure 1). Younger boys wore short pants. Most boys wore ankle socks, but we note a few boys wearing knee s0cks. We mostly notice shoes. Sandals were not very common. School smocks have declined in popularity after the 1960s, but are still worn at many schools--especially private schools. Here they take the form of school uniforms with required colors and styles.

The 1970s

Franco died in 1976 and soon afterwards a new democratic government implement sweeping reforms in Spanish society and this included Spanish schools.

The 1980s

The 1990s

We are less sure about the situation in modern Spanish schools.

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Created: 12:24 AM 7/7/2004
Last updated: 9:56 PM 6/13/2011