Back to School in Sports Uniforms Rather than Traditional Uniforms?

Schools across Newcastle and throughout Australia are still wearing traditional school uniforms, mostly button-up shirts, tailored trousers, pleated skirts or tunics and black leather shoes.

---

Of course, each school in Newcastle sets its own uniform policy, but recent research conducted by our team of PhD students from the University of Newcastle, suggests that school communities should consider offering students the option to wear sports uniforms every day for several reasons.

Reason #1: Traditional uniforms are expensive. In a review of 60 schools, the average cost to Aussie parents for a school uniform was between $330 and $526 per student. Most sports uniforms consist of a polo shirt, shorts, tracksuit and joggers – at a total average cost of $163. The review suggested parents could save an average of $167 for primary and $363 for secondary students if they only needed to buy sports uniforms.

Reason #2: Students, parents and teachers would prefer students wear their sports uniforms. In a positive step, all government schools must now offer the option of either shorts or trousers to both boys and girls. Some schools, however, are choosing to offer tailored shorts or trousers. Although helpful, our research has shown that students don’t like wearing traditional uniforms.

Our latest research of NSW schools found that 62% of primary students and 72% of secondary students would prefer to wear a sports uniform every day. In addition, four in five parents and six in ten teachers support a change in uniform policy that allows students to wear sports uniform every day.

“We’re lucky; my son goes to a school with a sports uniform every day policy. So it’s been great to help him ride to and from school and be active at recess with his mates,” said mum and former teacher Rebecca Jackson.

Reason #3: Sports uniforms support increases in physical activity – that’s good for learning too. We also know that more active students do better in class, demonstrating better concentration, attention, and classroom behaviours, leading to improved academic performance.

Research suggests that by changing from a traditional uniform to a sports uniform, primary-aged students can improve their physical activity levels. Changing to sports uniforms may be even more critical for Australian girls, who are typically less active than boys.

But uniform changes alone won’t change student physical activity. Combining ingredients such as wearing sports uniforms daily with classroom energizers and safe active travel routes to school will work better together than separately.

Reason #4: Traditional uniforms are uncomfortable. “Uniforms hold me back from running” was one of several reasons Australian secondary students gave for not being active at recess.

“I don’t like wearing stockings because they fall down when I run. I can’t go on the monkey bars because my dress goes up,” said six-year-old Millar.

Workplace dress policies are almost always appropriate for the type of work required by employees. For example, tradies wear reflective activewear. So why not in schools? In a country with a climate like Australia’s, we must ask if traditional school uniforms are fit for purpose?

Challenges and next steps

Our research shows that just one-third of Principals support a uniform policy change to allow students to wear sports uniforms every day. More often than not, Principals say that sports uniforms are inappropriate for formal occasions.

So we strongly encourage school departments to work with uniform suppliers to design physical activity enabling sports uniforms that are also smart and appropriate for formal school occasions.

For schools across Newcastle and the Hunter, there’s currently an opportunity to join our latest research on school uniforms; please email Nicole McCarthy at Nicole.McCarthy@uon.edu.au.