A message from Mr Clutterbuck, Headteacher:

Our school uniform is a visible sign of belonging to Deer Park. All pupils must wear our school uniform (black skirt or trousers, striped shirt, top with logo) in line with our Uniform Dos and Don'ts.

Coats, hoodies, technical hoodies, fleeces & other outer garments

As we move into Spring and the weather warms, the murky grey area between outdoor wear, coats and technical hoodies or fleeces versus our school jumper and school ¼ zip top, should not be blurred.

Pupils are not allowed to wear any other garment on top of their school shirt in place of the school jumper or school ¼ zip top (or school cardigan for girls in Years 10/11). Of course pupils may wear coats to school, but these must be worn as outdoor wear to protect from the elements. Pupils must not wear them as proxy school tops.

Acceptable school tops:

• Deer Park navy jumper (separate versions available for boys and girls)
• Deer Park navy cardigan (Key Stage 4 girls only)
• Deer Park navy and yellow ¼ zip top.

From Term 5 (after the Easter holidays), no pupils will be allowed to wear any form of hoodie to school, be it a regular sweatshirt material style hoodie or a technical hoodie. These have been allowed during the bad weather of the past two terms. However, they are not always being worn as intended (warm and weatherproof outwear), some pupils are instead wearing them in place of the school uniform tops.

From Monday 17 April 2023, if any pupil wears a hoodie, technical or not, or any garment in place of a school jumper or school ¼ zip top, the item will be confiscated until the end of the day. The garment can then be collected from Pastoral. Refusal to hand over such items is defiant behaviour and the pupil will be sanctioned.

Skirts

Some pupils are choosing to roll up their skirts. I have spoken to all of our pupils about uniform in assemblies including concerns over skirt length. Pupils who wear skirts know that if any member of staff instructs them to lengthen their skirt by rolling the waist band down, then they must do this without protest and move on. So far this is working, however, I ask parents and carers to support the school by doing the same thing from home and when you drop your children off at school.

The issue with skirt length has been part of the glorious tradition of battles over uniform since the advent of schooling and should come as no surprise to anyone. Nevertheless, when parents and school work in partnership over matters like these, it makes our expectations that much easier to reinforce. Support from home is gratefully received.
 

United

Enforcing the school uniform may sound draconian but the benefits of our uniform far outweigh the negative aspects. Our uniform expectations are framed around our school values (Trust, Kindness and Determination), which allow our pupils to be Safe, Happy and Successful, thereby making sure that all pupils feel that sense of unity and belonging within our school community.

Parents and carers, thank you in advance for supporting the school in helping our young people meet our uniform expectations. Please make sure that you have read our Uniform Dos and Don'ts.