Anti cycling school policy

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

My cousin who's 18 is going into 6th year in September, hopefully. She usually cycles to school regardless of the weather and she'd remove her rain gear if she was wearing it and change out of her tracksuit in the toilets or if they were open, the PE changing rooms.

A few other people did this too who cycled from varying distances. About 10 or 15 in total. Not lots, but it's still good to see. The rest would be cycling from 1-2 km in their uniforms.

The school's principal sent out an annual news letter which they usually do every summer to recap the previous year's events, make announcements and clarify new rules etc and thank and acknowledge people who deserve it.

They have introduced a new school rule.

"It has been noted that pupils have been cycling to school in tracksuits or other cycling gear and wearing a coat other than the prescribed school coat and entering the school premises which must not be done as per the school rules.
Whilst we encourage cycling and keeping fit, we must insist on rigid adherence to the school's uniform policy going forward. As such, we must insist that all pupils are wearing full school uniform before they enter school grounds.
Failure to comply will result in detention and upto including suspension"

The above quote was manually type on a phone from a paper newsletter so there may be typos.

What a backwards step. If anything this'll discourage people from cycling and will probably introduce more cars from parents.
It'll probably impact the girls moreso.
There's no school bus and public transport is unreliable in the area.

endacl

Thanks for letting the internet know.

Hurrache

Don't mind the silly comment OP, some people have a requirement that the internet knows how cool they try to be.

It's a pretty dumb requirement to wear the uniform into the grounds itself when cycling in. I wonder if they apply it to those arriving to play a school team sport?

punisher5112

It's not an attack against cycling it's part of the norm across near all schools so children can be seen they are from the school and their safety too.


No big deal if there is an issue go to a school where there is no uniform.

Bubbaclaus

Best to just ignore it. She is 18 and the school will realise how ridiculous it is when everyone just ignores it.

Hurrache

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's not an attack against cycling it's part of the norm across near all schools so children can be seen they are from the school and their safety too.


No big deal if there is an issue go to a school where there is no uniform.

Very few schools I've dealt with have school coats, I can think of a handful of private ones and that's about it.

GinSoaked

Sounds like a private school and they can make up any rules they like.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

It's not a private school.
It's a public one btw.

My old secondary school (not the one in the OP) was a DEIS school and we had an €80 coat (I was in secondary from 2003-2008).

There was financial help for parents who couldn't afford the coat.

They had that same rule in my day in one of the girls schools (not private). It simply led to girls going to school without a coat at all rather than buy/wear the gaudy looking school ones.

magicbastarder

punisher5112 wrote: »

No big deal if there is an issue go to a school where there is no uniform.

change school a couple of months before going into sixth year? what a useful suggestion.

Seve OB

Cycle to school as normal.
Stop outside the gates.
Strip off the tracksuit/cycling gear.
Dress in the appropriate uniform before crossing the school boundary.

magicbastarder

Seve OB wrote: »

Cycle to school as normal.
Stop outside the gates.
Strip off the tracksuit/cycling gear.
Dress in the appropriate uniform before crossing the school boundary.

or else the parent of the child in question could ring the principal, and ask is this what the students cycling to school are expected to do.

or else ask 'are you preventing my child from cycling to school while wearing hi-vis, and are you willing to accept liability in case of any incidents?', might put it up to the principal.

Bubbaclaus

magicbastarder wrote: »

or else the parent of the child in question could ring the principal, and ask is this what the students cycling to school are expected to do.

or else ask 'are you preventing my child from cycling to school while wearing hi-vis, and are you willing to accept liability in case of any incidents?', might put it up to the principal.

The 'child' in this case is an 18 year old adult. No need for parent involvement.

Wanderer19

Get the principal to source hi-vis waistcoats with the school crest, and distribute them to cyclists - kids can be seen and the school can be identified.

jaxxx

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

The 'child' in this case is an 18 year old adult. No need for parent involvement.

Even if you're 50, you're still your parents child :pac:

magicbastarder

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

The 'child' in this case is an 18 year old adult. No need for parent involvement.

You mean the student speaking to the principal on this would carry as much clout as a parent doing so?

Breezer

Things appear to have moved on since my day, at least. We had to wear full uniform to and from school, not just in the grounds. There were teachers used to hand out punishments for seeing kids walking home wearing runners instead of formal shoes. Looking back it was ridiculous. This situation is also silly.

As your cousin is 18 and an adult, I would suggest she first attempt to raise this with the school principal via the proper channels. That may be some sort of student council, or by bringing it first to a class tutor or year head, or whatever the system in the school is.

However, as she is still a student, and there is a very one sided student/teacher power dynamic, she may not be listened to. In which case I would suggest a parent makes a polite call to the principal, and points out the likely negative consequences of this policy. There’s tons of stuff out there about teenage girls not exercising and how thats leads to obesity etc., which could be politely highlighted.

Hurrache

[Deleted User] wrote: »

They had that same rule in my day in one of the girls schools (not private). It simply led to girls going to school without a coat at all rather than buy/wear the gaudy looking school ones.

I always wondered why you see them not wearing coats in all sorts of weather, never crossed my mind as an explanation.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

magicbastarder wrote: »

or else the parent of the child in question could ring the principal, and ask is this what the students cycling to school are expected to do.

or else ask 'are you preventing my child from cycling to school while wearing hi-vis, and are you willing to accept liability in case of any incidents?', might put it up to the principal.

It's an absurd rule alright and it reeks of "control".
It even sounds ridiculous that the parents of an adult woman have to ring up and essentially beg the principal to let her cycle.

Ignoring the rule isn't really an option as someone suggested. Detention and suspension will be given out for infringement. The latter being more serious in sixth year.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

Wanderer19 wrote: »

Get the principal to source hi-vis waistcoats with the school crest, and distribute them to cyclists - kids can be seen and the school can be identified.

It's also an issue that she and other pupils aren't allowed to cross the school boundary in a tracksuit to get changed.

Once in a blue moon the PE changing rooms are open in the morning because they weren't locked by the teacher the previous day, other than that she has to get changed in a toilet cubicle.

Wishbone Ash

GinSoaked wrote: »

Sounds like a private school and they can make up any rules they like.

Not so. It's the other way around. My daughter attends a private girl's school. Parents who pay large fees have a lot more clout regarding school rules than parents of pupils in public schools.

magicbastarder

What is the normal uniform anyway? Skirts, or are trousers allowed?

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

magicbastarder wrote: »

What is the normal uniform anyway? Skirts, or are trousers allowed?

Girls: Flat black shoes (specific ones), school knee socks, blouse and jumper and tie. The female vice principal dies spot checks to make sure girls aren't wearing pyjama bottoms or extra leggings on cold days.

Boys: Specific shoes, trousers, shirt, tie and jumper.

You're not allowed to remove any item of clothing including the jumper even during a hot day but that's for a different thread.

Bubbaclaus

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Girls: Flat black shoes (specific ones), school knee socks, blouse and jumper and tie. The female vice principal dies spot checks to make sure girls aren't wearing pyjama bottoms or extra leggings on cold days.

Boys: Specific shoes, trousers, shirt, tie and jumper.

You're not allowed to remove any item of clothing including the jumper even during a hot day but that's for a different thread.

Sounds like a bunch of busy bodies running that school.

byhookorbycrook

If the student is 18, she doesn’t need a parent to ring , she is an adult as already pointed out . You didn’t mention a skirt /trousers ?

Breezer

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Girls: Flat black shoes (specific ones), school knee socks, blouse and jumper and tie. The female vice principal dies spot checks to make sure girls aren't wearing pyjama bottoms or extra leggings on cold days.

Boys: Specific shoes, trousers, shirt, tie and jumper.

You're not allowed to remove any item of clothing including the jumper even during a hot day but that's for a different thread.

I can’t believe this sh1te still goes on in 2020.

Sorry, I know I’m OT, but as someone who doesn’t have kids and hasn’t had to think about this for 15 years, I’m genuinely shocked. I can see the point in uniforms, but this is just power tripping.

Edit: And this is why parents may need to ring, I think. Schools are not normal places where reasonable concerns can be raised and dealt with adult to adult. Could you imagine this happening in a workplace? Something strange happens some otherwise reasonable people when they enter a staff room and are given power over a bunch of other, younger people. Being 18 won’t change that.

I had loads of excellent teachers, I’ve friends who are teachers and are passionate about their jobs, but the profession seems to attract (or create) head cases more than most others.

magicbastarder

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

If the student is 18, she doesn’t need a parent to ring , she is an adult as already pointed out . You didn’t mention a skirt /trousers ?

Sounds like she doesn't need parent teacher meetings either?
We all know that a parent ringing would have much chance of being given a fair hearing than a pupil objecting.

r93kaey5p2izun

That's a disappointing decision from the school. I think the girl should write down her thoughts as to why this is an unreasonable decision and email to the principal, asking him/her to reconsider. If there is a Student Council she should contact them too. If there is a Green Schools coordinator she should contact them too. If there is no joy with the principal then she should formally write to the BOM.

karlitob

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's not an attack against cycling it's part of the norm across near all schools so children can be seen they are from the school and their safety too.


No big deal if there is an issue go to a school where there is no uniform.

What a stupid comment. How about the organisation who are funded by my tax contribution respect my fellow citizens who are being responsible citizens.

Who cares whether anyone knows that they are students of that school? How does that contribute to safety??

Mrs OBumble

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

It's an absurd rule alright and it reeks of "control".
It even sounds ridiculous that the parents of an adult woman have to ring up and essentially beg the principal to let her cycle.

Ignoring the rule isn't really an option as someone suggested. Detention and suspension will be given out for infringement. The latter being more serious in sixth year.

Of course its about control: school is an institution for children and control is necessary.

And its not a new rule, simply enforcement of one which the young person and their parents knew about when they enrolled.

magicbastarder

What a bizarrely authoritarian point.