You are going to read a magazine article in which a number of students express their opinions about school uniforms. Some of them are in secondary school, and some of them are in sixth form college,

You are going to read a magazine article in which a number of students express their opinions about school uniforms. Some of them are in secondary school, and some of them are in sixth form college, where students can go after secondary school.

For questions 1-15 decide in which of the sections of the article (A-F) this opinion is expressed. Some of the sections may be chosen more than once. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Boys and girls should be treated equally as far as their appearance is concerned. It can be good to be told what to wear. Not having a uniform can cause students to feel bad. Not having a uniform means spending more money. Wearing a uniform prevents you from developing your character. What you wear doesn’t really matter. What you wear in school prepares you for dressing later in life. It would be better if the actual uniforms were different. In some schools, students have had problems with the administration over appearance. A school uniform means you have to develop your own personality. Wearing a uniform helps to build a school identity. It is good to wear different clothes out of school.

0 __F__ 1___2___3___ 4 ____ 5 ____ 6 ____ 7 ____ 8 ________ 9 ________ 10 _________ 11 _________ 12 __________ 13 __________ 14 __________ 15 __________

Do you think school uniforms are an old-fashioned way of suppressing a pupil’s identity or a sensible method of stopping youngsters from turning the classroom into a fashion parade? David Lloyd enquires…

A

Jenny Keating and Vicky O’Corman attend Birkenhead Sixth Form College where no uniform is required.

Vicky O’Corman: ‘I didn’t like wearing uniforms in secondary school, but it was better than getting your normal clothes dirty. In the sixth form you feel like you have to spend more time on clothes to look OK whereas in school there was nothing to worry about. You just threw on your uniform every day, which was nice.’

Vicky believes that, for many students, there is an added financial burden of having to keep up with the latest fashions. ‘In our college most people just wear what they feel comfortable in. but there’s always a certain group who get to the new fashions and expensive labels first and expect everyone else to follow them. And this often leads to jealousy or resentment. It gets on my nerves sometimes having to wear the same clothes at the weekend that I do during the week, especially if they are all in the wash.’

B

Jenny Keating: ‘I don’t think sixth-formers should wear uniforms. Once you get to sixth form college everyone is stronger as an individual and trying to express their individuality. If they have got a uniform on, it could harm their development.’

As the saying goes, Jenny doesn’t believe that you should judge a book by its cover. ‘I don’t think it’s important for us to look smart, we are here to study. Just because you wear a uniform, this doesn’t make you more responsible,’ she said.

C

Students at Calday Grange Grammar School for Boys have to wear the school uniform and tie – and those staying on into the sixth form must replace it with a similar, smart jacket and tie: ’As one would be expected to wear in business,’ explains a teacher.

D

Edward Clarke and Tim Roberts have just sat their exams and are moving up to the sixth form in September.

Edward Clarke: ‘I think it can be cruel for some pupils when school has a non-uniform day because they feel terrible if they can’t afford decent clothes. A school uniform enforces discipline and gives the students a sense of belonging.’ Agreeing with the school sixth form’s ‘jacket and tie’ policy, Edward adds: ‘I’ll be wearing a sports jacket for the sixth form. I think it’s a good idea to have greater choice, but it’s important to have guidelines, otherwise too much emphasis would be placed on what to wear.’

E

Tim Roberts: ‘I’d rather be wearing a uniform than casual clothes, it saves my Mum a lot of cash.’ Tim believes that wearing designer labels does not make you more of an ‘individual’. ‘If anything, a school uniform encourages you to develop your own character more. Because you all have to wear the same clothes, you have to try harder to make your individual character stand out. The one problem with uniform is that it’s not very practical to wear all day. It’s also very uncomfortable in the summer – the blazers are very heavy.’

F

Six Essex boys won a fight to keep their hair on! The headmaster wanted the boys to get their hair cut. The school found out that it could be breaking the Sex Discrimination Act unless it ordered all the girls to shorten their hair as well.

In Nottingham, pupils at one sweltering school organized a protest over a ban on shorts. It was summer, and the poor boys’ legs were getting overheated – so was the headmaster, who suspended them all!

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04