Figure 1.--Many prep schools had uniforms which required short trousers, usually with kneesocks. Nost had rules allowing some boys to wear long trusers. This was usually done on the basis of age. |
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There were several approaches to wearing long and short troysers at different prep schools. This was quite important to some boys who were amxious to wear long trousers. Sme of these approaches were more common than others and have varied over time. The most common rule was asn age rule, but the specific age varied from school to school. There was, however, some other approaches used at the various schools. And there were various complications such as schools that had everyday and dress uniforms. And the trends concerning these rules have tended to change over time,
At some schools it was an optional matter. Often when shorts were made optional, most boys tened to wear long trousers, especially the older boys. One school we visited where the choice was optional only had one boy in Form I wearing short trousers. More commonly there were rules about who could wear long trousers. While most schools with optional rules gravitated toward all the boys wearing longs, this was not always the result. At a few schools a number of boys chose to weat shorts. This was generally the cae with schools that had informal uniforms and as more common during the warm summer term.
At some schools the optional of wearing short and long trousrs was seasonal. This seemed to be becoming a more common approach. At a few schools it was not the length of trousers that changed seasonally, but the type of trousers.
Generally the unifom rule allowing boys to wear long trousers was done by age. This was the most common rule, but the age for wearing long trousers varied quite a bit. Many schools had short pants uinforms for boys throuh age 10 years. Other schools set the made the age for switching to long trousers at 11, 12, and 13 years. The 13 age rule was not very common as many boys turned 13 only in the second half of their final year and other boys were still 12 years old when they finished. One boy who just turned 13 complsined to us that he to wear short trousers all through the Winter.
Some schools earlier had height rules, but these by the 1980s were generally replaced by age rules. A friemd who attended a public school which had short amd long trousers as part of the uniform told me that there was a heigt rule. As he was on the short side he found this very embarassing because he was still wearing short trousers in his final year at the school. We did not find any school in the 1980s that still had a height rule.
There were no schools which made weight a factor as to when boys could begin to wear long strousers, but some schools did allow boys on the heavy side to wear longs. Some heavy boys felt self conscious wearing shorts.
In a few instances the shift from short to long trousers was made by class (form) level. At a few schools only the boys in the top form were allowed long trousers. At some only the top two forms. One boy who had not passed his examinatins and had to repeat a firm, complained to us that his friends now all had long trousrs. This form approach, however, not very common by the 1980s. More common was the age rule.
Some schools only permitted the older boys who were prefects to wer long trousers. We think this was once a common approach, but by the 1980s when more schools were allowing boys to wear long trousers, it was no longer as common. We did find, however, a few schools which still had this rule. This seems to have been much more common in the 1970s.
