School uniforms in England: Difference between revisions

Around 1820, the elite public schools formalised their dress code standardising on what upper class children would have already been wearing. Eton introduced the Eton suit for boys under 5ft 4ins, comprising a short dark ‘bum freezer’ jacket, grey trousers, large starched white collar and top hat. Other public schools had their own interpretations. Town grammar schools followed the trend and many adopted a sober uniform of short jacket and trousers, white Eton collar, bow tie or knotted tie and a round cap as would be worn by cricketers.<ref name=Brighton/>

In 1870, the [[Elementary Education Act 1870]] made elementary education available for all children in England and Wales. Grammar school headteachers put their pupils into uniform to distinguish them from from pupils at the new [[Board school|school board]][[secondary modern schoolsschool]]s and [[elementary schoolsschool]]s <ref name=Rae>{{cite book|editor=Davidson|last1=Rae|first1=John|title=Blazers, badges and boaters : a pictorial history of school uniform|date=1990|publisher=Scope Books|location=Horndean, Hants [England]|isbn=0906619254}}</ref> Younger [[board school]] boys generally wore knickerbockers, black woollen stockings, leather boots, white shirts with starched Eton collars and a lounge or Norfolk jacket. The Norfolk jacket with its cloth belt and vertical stitched-down pleats, originated as a sporting garment and had become popular school and weekend wear during the 1880s/1890s,<ref name=Brighton/> <!-- needed on wlinks as I think we are talking about Extended elementary schools -->