Uniforms return for pupils
Black trousers or skirts with white shirts or blouses as school bids to beat "tyranny of designer labels"
PUPILS at a school in Seine-et-Marne have returned from holidays refreshed from top to toe after parents voted for a return to school uniforms.
Now every youngster at Sourdun internat d'excellence boarding school wears the same clothes: a black skirt or trousers with a white blouse for the girls and black trousers, white shirt and tie for the boys.
They received their uniforms during the winter break - each boy getting two pairs of trousers, four shirts, two jumpers, one tie and a blazer, costing €270 with parents paying €80. Shoes are a personal choice, but trainers are banned.
Principal Bernard Locicio said it was a bid to beat the "tyranny of designer labels" and bring in a "measure of equality between the pupils" and a "sense of belonging" at school.
However, the pupils themselves at the 389-pupil school were not so pleased, telling reporters that they "weren't at ease" in the new uniforms.
Parents had voted 75% in favour of the plan when asked in October. The pupils themselves chose the colours.
Valérie Marty, president of the parents' federation PEEP, said she was not in favour of the plan, saying that children would find other ways of boosting their social standing: shoes, jewellery, mobile phones.
School uniforms have not been the norm in French schools since 1968 and it is thought to be the first time a state school has introduced a uniform.
Up until now they were retained mainly for private schools and others such as military schools and the Paris Maison d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur at Saint-Denis.
