Harrow County School for Boys (1964)


Figure 1.--These 11-12 year old English boys wear their grammar school uniform. This is Form 1C and it is the first year at the school.

The Harrow County School for Boys in 1964 was a grammar school, an academically selective secondary school. English grammar schools at the time were being reorganized as comprehensives, rather like American non-selective high schools. Surprisingly much of this transformation took place during a Conservative Government, in fact, while Masrgaret Thatcher was Minister of Education. HBC is not sure just when the Harrow School was reorganized. The boys here are the new entrants from primary school. The school had a uniform code, but did not strictly enfore the rue requiring first year boys to wear short trousers. This was increasingly being left up to the parents. Most parents by 1964 were beginning to think that long trousers were more appropriate for boys than short trousers, or at least were acceeding to their boys' opinions on the subject.

Date

These photographs were probably taken around May 1964. This would be toward the end of the school year. Generally at English schools the class photograph is taken during the end of the year in May or June, but there is no way of being sure about this. The photographs on the 1962 page, for example, were taken in October.


Figure 2.--New entrants at the school in 1964 mostly wore long trousers by the end of the year. There may have been a few more boys wearing shorts earlier in the year and some of the boys in the back rows may have been wearing shorts.

Form 1C

The photographs show the boys in Form C who would be 11-12 years old. This would depend somewhat on when the photograph was taken. At the beginning of the year there would be a mixture of 11 and 12 year olds. By the end of the tear the boys are mostly 12 years old. Boys admitted to a grammar school are the academically capable boys who did well on the 11+ exam which they took in their last year of primary school. Grammar school often streamed their forms, so this might not have been one of the top academic forms.

Uniform

These photographs show the boys wearing a traditional uniform of dark green blazer with the school crest. The boys wear white shirts, ties, and grey trousers. This is identical with the uniform worn by the Form 1 boys in 1962. The principal difference with the 1962 uniform is that more of the boys are wearing long trousers. One boy can be seen in short trousers. It is possible that at least a few of the boys in the back rows also wear shorts--but HBC notes that seating appears to be by height with the taller older looking boys at the back. These boys would probably be less likely to wear shorts than the shorter younger looking boys at the front. All of the boys wear black leather shoes. The previous year in primary school, some of these boys probably wore sandals.

Conventions

It is clear that by 1964 it was becoming increasingly common for boys at the Harrow School--even the younger Class 1 boys to wear long trousers. Only 3 boys in the front row of the photograph wear shorts. There may be a boy or two wearing shorts in the back rows, but it is clear that there are not very many. This may have depended on the season. These photographs were taken toward the end of the school year. At the beginning of the year before the winter more of the boys may have worn shorts.


Figure 3.--Note that the one of the two boys in shorts is wearing plain grey kneesocks without the colored bands that the other boys in shorts are wearing. The boys presumably had to wear grey kneesicks, but not necessarily the school socks.

Older Boys

HBC at this time has no information on the uniform worn by older boys at the school. Given the fact that so few of the Form 1 boys wear short pants, however, it seems likely that the older boys at the school all wear longs.

Popularity

Contributions from English readers suggest that boys in the 1950s and 60s had mixed opinions about short trousers, as they call them. Some boys didn't like them as they were a badge of boyhood. They would badger their parents for a pair of longs. Other boys weren't really bothered. Some boys report that their mothers bought them long trousers without even being asked. Some boys complained that shorts were uncomfortable in the cold weather. In fact modern English boys wouldn't think about wearing shorts in the winter. Clearly from these photographs, English boys had rather much made up their mind about shorts. They didn't want to wear them any more. It was an option at the school, and only three boys can be seen to have taken the option and this was presumably done so by their mothers.

School Rules

The rule in 1962 was for first year boys to wear short trousers. It is unclear if this rule still existed in 1964. As was the case of many grammar schools, it is apparent from these photographs that the school very strictly enforced the rules on uniforms. Each of the boys is carefully togged out in the uniform. Not one boy has turned up without the blazer or tie. The only variance HBC notes is that some boys wear sweaters and some do not. Clearly sweaters were an option. Shorts were the only other apparent option.

Hair Styles

Other than the short pants, there do not seem to be any noticeable differences between the 1961 and 64 photographs. The boys in 1964 seem to have the same short haircuts worn by the boys in 1961. The longer styles of the 1970s are not yet in evidence.








Christopher Wagner





Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s]



Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals]




Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Return to the Main Harrow School page]
[Australia] [England] [France] [Germany]
[Italy] [Japan] [New Zealand] [Scotland]
[United States]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction] [Activities] [Bibliographies] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Contributions] [Countries]
[Boys' Clothing Home]


Created: December 21, 2000
Last updated: February 10, 2001