Figure 1.--Prepartory schools like public schools had elaborate uniforms which have since been simplified. This prepartory school has a simple uniform of sweaters and cord short pants worn with grey shirts and ties. |
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We notice several different types of English primary and pre-primary schools in England. American would tend to call these schools elementary schools, although the term "primary school" is understood. There are both state and private (often referred to as independent) schools in England. The state primary schools are supplemented with Anglican and Catholic schools as well as a few other denominational schools which in England received substantial financial support. Private primary schools are also called preparattory schools in the sence that they prepare boys for the Public (private secondary) schools. Preparatoty schools do not incluse the eraly primary years which are called pre-prep and add some of the junior high years. There are also boarding schools, but this is discussed in the boarding school section.
There have been many types of state schools for elementary-age school
children. Elementary schools in the 1940s included boy right up to secondary school age, which would nean boys of 13 or even 14 years of age. A key law creating the modern structure of English Education was the 1944 Education Act. It reflected the growing political clout of the Labor Party and the aim was to expand educational opportunity. The law had some features that would be now viewed as elitist, especially the 11 plus exams to gain access to the best secondary schools. The 1944 law restructured the scools, creating primary schools for boys up to 11 years, and the boys from 12-14 were to be educated in the expanding secondary system. English elementary and primary schools generally did not have uniforms until recently. Many of the new primary schools began instituting simple uniforms in the 1960s. Most commonly these were jumpers, grey shorts, and kneesocks. Rarely did these schools have blazers, but many required the boys and girls to wear ties. By the time that the new primary schools had been created, the fashion of school caps had begun to go out of style, so caps were usually not worn. The state schools of course serviced families of modest means. As a result the jumpers and kneesocks usually did not have the colored trim identifying the schools. Many boys wore the kneesocks without turn-over-tops and colored bands. The shorts were usually the less expensive style that was not lined. Uniforms at the primary schools have changed in the 1980s and 90s. Many schools introduced colored jumpers or less expensive sweat shirts. Many of the sweatshirts have the school name or logo and are usually bright colors, quite different than the grey jumpers once universally worn by English primary children. Many schools dropped the requirement that boys wear short pants. Some continue, however, to require shorts during the summer. Others still require shorts for the younger boys.
The Government in England provides financial support to Anglican and Catholic
schools. These are mostly primary schools. I believe these schools more commonly
insisted on uniforms than the regular state schools. The uniforms were
like the primary school uniforms, simple grey jumpers, grey short pants,
and grey kneesocks. Some Cathlolic schools had colored jumpers like
dark green. The Anglican schools were more likely to have jumpers and knee
socks with colored trim than the ordinary state primary schools. I do not
have, however, a great amount of information here.
England used to have large numbers of small pre-preprep schools, although they used to have a varirtu of different names. Today largely due to business matters, many prep schools have set up attached pre-prep schools to ensure a continued number of new entrants to the prep school. Also the economics of education mean that a certain minimum number of children are needed to run a school. The pre-prep helps to meet those critical numbers. Thus there are now far fewer independent pre-prep schools. SSome of the independent pre-prep schools maintain traditional school uniforms. A few even retain the traditional peaked caps.
English preparatory schools are elementary-level schools, generally
for boys 8-13 years of age. (There are also girls' and coed prep schools, but the girls often leave for their public schools at age 11.) They are called preparatory schools as they were created to prepare younger boys for the public schools. The public schools in the 19th Century could be and often were very rough places. Many had no definite age for accepting children, but were not generally suitable for younger boys. The prep schools were mostly set up as boarding schools and persued an academic and sports program designed to hrlp the boys do well at their public school. Many prep schools were established in the late 19th Century just as uniforms were becoming established and many new public schools were being opened. Like the public school, the preparatory school had a dautingly long list for the boys school kit. Many prep schools were quite strict about the uniform and how it was worn. Headmasters oftn viewed the boys as walking advertisements for the school and insisted that the boys wear the uniform correctly. The uniform has been significantly simplified at the modern prep school, but it is still given substantial emphasis at many schools.
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