A Christchurch college is bringing back uniforms for senior students after decades of them wearing their own clothes, despite strong opposition from its community and students.
At the moment, Year 13 students at Papanui High School get to wear their own clothes in their final year.
The school surveyed more than 800 students, teachers and community members about a uniform refresh.
Overwhelmingly, students and the community did not want uniforms made compulsory for Year 13.
Some of the teenagers said wearing their own clothes in their final year helped prepare them for the workplace and was a reward for staying in school.
A change.org petition’s been launched to try and halt the change.
But for now, the uniform will be compulsory for Year 13 from next year.
Papanui High School Principal Robert Gilbert told RNZ’s Checkpoint the main reason the school decided to re-introduce uniform was down to “safety concerns”.
“We’re a very large school, now 1600 students… the school is so large that it’s not possible to keep our student community safe because we don’t know who the people are on site when they’re not wearing a uniform.”
Gilbert said it had become nearly impossible to discern the difference between Year 13 students and other groups of people on site.
“We can’t differentiate between, say, a Year 13 student, maybe a trainee teacher, maybe a Year 12 student out of uniform, a visitor, or some thug down the road coming in to sell drugs.”
While Gilbert could not confirm if there had been drug dealers on the school site, there had been issues with non-students entering the grounds.
“We wouldn’t know because we can’t tell which are our students and which aren’t. That’s probably the point.
“We have certainly had unwanted people on site, usually from other schools not in uniform and causing havoc in our school, and it has become a health and safety issue.”
He said there had also been issues when it came to students off school grounds, particularly at the shopping mall next door.
“We want to be able to know where our students are… so if our Year 13s go to the shopping mall, that they’re identified as representatives and role models from our school, and not just any other random teenager who’s wandering through the mall.”
He said it wasn’t uncommon that their students had been accused of behaviour they weren’t responsible for, due to their lack of uniform.
“What happens if you’ve got other youths in the mall who are causing trouble? We automatically get blamed because we’re the school right next door, whereas if they’re in uniform, they’re easily identifiable.”
Gilbert said while the school had considered other options to identify students, such as an ID card, lanyard, or badge, health and safety was not the only factor in reinstating the uniform.
“That is a big reason, but that’s not the sole reason.
“For a lot of students, having a wardrobe, a selection of clothing, the right labels, clean clothes, it is not a problem for them, but for some families that’s an issue.”
He also had concerns about causing divides between the students.
“What we actually end up doing by saying you can wear whatever you like… is we start creating an ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation with our students.”
As a solution to this issue, Year 13 students can currently opt into wearing a uniform if they would like to.
However, Gilbert said this option was no longer viable due to the added health and safety concerns.
He also cited a sense of belonging and pride for the students who had managed to reach Year 13.
However, in a survey sent out to students, staff and community about the proposed changes, only 24% of Year 13 students supported a compulsory uniform.
Parents said they were only made aware of the change through a school newsletter, which outlined progress on the development of a refreshed uniform.
rnz.co.nz
