Looking for a London schoolwear supplier can be a tiresome task, but imagine if you had to incorporate a search for the perfect nose ring for your daughter into looking for the standard shirts and P.E kit. This may be the reality for parents at a major New Plymouth high school, where facial piercings have just been declared as part of the school uniforms. The school clothes policy has changed from one allowing students one stud earring in each ear, the rule at most schools in the area and in the UK. School board chairman Darren Muggeridge said students would now be allowed one lip and one nose piercing.
He described the new rule as a compromise in a difficult area. For the school governors, it is a way of meeting the students half way. They feel that making sure that there are rules around what is worn and where they are worn will keep a sense of discipline without depriving the pupils of their rights to self-expression. The school had previously been very strict around school uniforms, but it had taken more time and effort than expected to deal with piercings. The principal of the country’s largest school, Rangitoto College, said he was seeing demand for a more conservative dress code. He feels a lot of pressure coming from that direction, as part of the pressure on teenagers to succeed academically.
The atmosphere in New Plymouth is perhaps rather more relaxed than in Auckland, but still, the introduction of the new policy followed a lengthy debate. Teachers and governors appreciate that it may not satisfy all parents, but they feel that policing facial piercings is no longer worth the time and effort that the school has been forced to invest in it. In the end it was a case of deciding that there were more important things for the school to be dealing with. Although facial piercings are often associated with teenage rebellion and the punk look, it is worth remembering that some studs can be the size of a tiny pin, and the level of invisibility is such that they are hardly intrusive.
It is probably safe to assume that your London schoolwear supplier will not stock nose studs, however unobtrusive they might be. This case does raise interesting issues where school clothes are concerned. Whilst many experts agree on the benefits of school uniforms which make children look smarter and help even out differences between them, it is also worth questioning how much effort schools should be forced to go to in order to control the appearance of their students.
Please visit http://www.uniform4kids.com/ for further information about this topic.
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