Fashion sense (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Fashion sense

LAZILY contemplating the French and English worlds this year, I couldn't help comparing the bright, attractive colours of the French schoolchildren with the sad, drab uniformity of our own.

And the stylish individuality of many young people in France with the conformity to the out-of-school peer uniform of our own.

I am making sweeping generalisations, I know. But just look around. Recycled children's tops combined with Isaac Newton-defying trousers don't suit every young lady, do they?

Now I know that discussions about school uniform are distinguished by emotion and dogmatic assertion rather than sweetness and light, but I wonder if we are doing our young people a disservice by insisting that they all dress alike rather than encouraging them to discover what suits them individually; it needn't be expensive.

Other countries don't share our obsession and several of them don't seem to compare badly in terms of academic achievement and classrooom discipline either.

The encouragement of pride in belonging is another difficult concept to maintain when you see how some school uniforms are worn out of school.

However, I notice that our current Labour government is very keen on school uniforms.

So I must be wrong, mustn't I?

T BROWN

Bradford on Avon