EXTRA TEXT, topic “school” LEVEL: easy     Bavarian „Englisch Grundkurs Abitur” 2001

Whatever happened to school uniform? In the 1960s and 70s it seemed to be on its way out. But then something happened. Britain pulled back from total abolition. Today that group of scruffy adolescents at the school gates will - more likely than not - be wearing variants on the same basic blue, black or green dress code.

Much of the rest of the world would probably see Britain's school uniforms as an anachronism - so why have many schools voted to retain them? “They appeal to parents,” says Malory Wober of the University of Michigan. “Uniform represents order and the majority of British parents still want that from schools.” Among headteachers the argument is often put that uniform reduces competitiveness between fashion-conscious people and obscures the differences between rich and poor children.

British teenagers like the challenge of a uniform. One head said: “When I think of the efforts they go to to subvert the rules I think it's almost an essential part of growing up.”

From: The Times Educational Supplement, 14 January 2000

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