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School Uniforms Across the World
If you are considering moving house to France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the USA, one of the many expenses you may have to think about, if you have a family, is a new school uniform. But what kinds of items will your children have to wear – or does your chosen country not wear school uniforms at all?
Hamiltons Removals are highly experienced in organising international removals to Europe and across the world. Here we look at how the school uniform started, and the customs and practices of different countries around the world.
The First School Uniforms
The practice of wearing a school uniform is thought to have originated in the Christ Hospital School in London in 1552. The school was run by a charity and it was originally a way of identifying the pupils’ low social status.
Private and grammar schools were the first to introduce uniforms, but they were slow to catch on because most families could not afford separate clothes for school.
Legislation introducing free education in the 19th century, for primary school pupils, and the 20th century for secondary school pupils in Britain, helped to make uniforms more popular. It meant children wore similar clothes and there was no discrimination against lower-income families. It was also firmly believed that having a uniform would encourage a sense of pride in the school, a belief which is still held today.
There is currently no formal legislation requiring uniforms to be worn, but the Department for Education encourages it. Around 90% of all schools in the UK have a uniform, often outlining specific garments which are included. School governors in this country have a duty to make sure uniforms remain affordable.
France
If you are thinking of moving house to France, then you also shouldn’t have to worry about new school clothes, as pupils here don’t generally wear a uniform.
Children used to wear standard gowns over their clothes to protect themselves from ink stains, although it is believed that after the introduction of the ballpoint pen in the 1960s this item gradually disappeared. Another school of thought says the school uniform disappeared after the student uprisings of 1968 – however, there have been localised calls for the reintroduction of a standard form of clothing in certain schools. Military schools and leading boarding schools in France still have a strict uniform policy.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand are similar to the UK in uniform adoption and each school sets its own policy. However, they’re common in most public (state) schools, and virtually all private and Catholic schools in Australia have one. Their uniforms are usually based on the school colours and may also have the school logo incorporated somewhere on their garments.
The warm climates of these countries mean boys, even older ones, are more likely to be allowed to wear shorts during hot weather. In New Zealand, primary pupils may have to wear broad-brimmed floppy hats to prevent sunburn, while sandals can be standard summer wear.
Canada
Canada has a reasonably relaxed attitude to school uniforms and most schools do not require their pupils to wear one. However, they may need them for specific occasions, such as performances or field trips, particularly to other countries – this is mainly for ease of identification. Most Canadian private and Catholic schools tend to have uniforms.
USA
Most US schools – about four out of every five – do not have a specific uniform, but more a general dress code set by the school board, which is the equivalent of governors in the UK, outlining what is and isn’t acceptable.
School uniforms in America, where they exist, tend to be more casual than in many other countries. For example, they may just specify collared, buttoned shirts, with different ties for boys and girls, paired with chinos or a certain colour of jeans. Girls may also wear a dress which must be of at least ‘modest’ length.
Germany
There is no great tradition of wearing school uniforms in Germany; however, pupils tend to have ‘school clothing’ which outlines a range of acceptable items, such as shirts, sweaters, trousers and dresses – usually with a nod to contemporary fashion.
Italy
In Italy, school uniforms are uncommon. The main standard item of dress is the grembiule, a type of smock which can be worn over the top of other garments. Younger, or primary school age pupils, wear a smaller version called a grembiulino. Some parents send their children to school in one even if the school does not require it.
International Removals Europe
If you considering a commercial or domestic house move to France, Germany or Italy, then Hamiltons Removals can help. We have a network of contacts throughout the industry and can co-ordinate international removals to destinations throughout Europe, as well as worldwide removals to countries including the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. If you would like to know more about our services, follow the link above.
On the Move in the Summer Holidays
In a couple of weeks, the school summer holidays will be coming to an end – much to the relief of parents around the world! The summer holidays are one of the busiest times of year for the removals industry, as a move out of term-time will give you and your family time to settle in before starting a new school or job. However, you should not assume that schools across the world break up at the same time as they do in the UK.
If you are thinking of moving abroad, Hamiltons Removals, specialists in international removals to Europe and worldwide, have compiled this guide to show how the summer holidays can vary from country to country.
Italy, Portugal and Spain
Although there can be some variations from region to region, generally Italian schoolchildren can get around three months off over the summer. This usually starts on the second week of June and lasts until the first week in September. This might seem a long vacation, given that Italian youngsters also get Christmas and Easter breaks, but they do not benefit from half-term holidays in the way that UK children do.
Portuguese and Spanish pupils also enjoy longer holidays than their UK counterparts, typically from mid-to-late June until mid-September. This is often to escape the worst of the high summer heat. Rather than being stuck in a hot classroom, children and their families tend to spend their holidays in beach resorts or in cooler areas like Northern Spain.
Scandinavian Countries
In Norway, the summer holiday tends to be around eight weeks in length, from mid-June to mid-August. Holidays in neighbouring Sweden tend to start at around the same time, but last for an additional week. So Swedish pupils don’t usually go back until the end of August, although this can vary from province to province.
In Denmark, the pupils aren’t quite as lucky, with the summer break lasting from the end of June until early or mid-August.
Germany
For those thinking of moving home to Germany, the picture varies considerably. Each state sets its own term dates and holidays, rather than conforming to a national pattern. However, all the pupils tend to have the same six weeks or so that apply to the UK.
For example, in 2018, the state of Baden-Wurttemburg, which includes the cities of Mannheim, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, sees children breaking up on July 26 and going back on September 8. However, in Saxony-Anhalt, which includes the cities of Magdeburg and Halle, school’s out much earlier, on June 28, but pupils will be back at their desks on August 8.
France
For the purposes of winter and spring holiday dates, France is split into three zones, A, B and C. However, the summer vacation is generally the same across the country, running from early July until the end of August.
If you are thinking of moving during the winter or spring breaks, then Zone A basically consists of central France, while Zone B is essentially the northern third of the country plus a small part of the south-east, and Zone C includes Paris and some of the southern regions. These zones are designed to split the population evenly and to ensure that not everyone goes on holiday at the same time.
The USA
In America pupils get as much as 12 weeks’ holiday over the summer. This is believed to be partly because the country’s economy originally relied so much on agriculture, and the children were needed to help with planting the crops and the harvest.
Another reason, particularly in the urban areas, was the climate. As in Spain, even with air-conditioned classrooms, it is thought to be unfair to make children sit at a desk all day in high temperatures.
The actual holiday dates will vary from state to state, but most pupils will be back at their desks after Labor Day, a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September.
Australia and South Africa
Don’t forget that the summer holidays aren’t always in our summer. So if you are considering overseas moves to Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia and South Africa, you need to be aware that pupils typically get between six and six-and-a-half weeks’ holiday, and that these start in December and run into January.
Bangladesh
Just in case UK pupils feel hard done by, because our summer holidays are by no means the longest in Europe, it’s worth remembering that pupils here still get longer than in some other parts of the world. For instance, in Bangladesh students only get a month. This begins in mid-May and ends in mid-June, to correspond with the month of Joishtho, according to the Bengali calendar.
Hamiltons Removals, as well as organising international removals in Europe, can also arrange commercial and domestic moves to worldwide destinations such as the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Follow the link to find out more.