POLL: Is school uniform 'a pointless waste of time'?

After the Yorkshire Post opinion piece this morning scores of people have got in touch to give their opinion.

In it, GP Taylor wrote:

There are many arguments put forward to say that the wearing of a school uniform is a good thing."Much is based on anecdotal evidence and the desire of politicians to push a particular policy.

The Academy movement has been at the forefront of this as they try to rebrand failing schools in a different uniform. They say that uniforms are a great economic leveller. In my experience, this was never the case. It was always easy to spot the kid from a poor family who couldn’t afford more than one shirt in a week or cheap shoes.

In many cases, this means that parents in the UK are paying in excess of £50m per year on branded clothes against high street brands. Schools are forcing families to buy premium priced clothes at an excess of High Street prices."

He also touched upon the argument around behaviour, adding: "There is no real evidence to say that school uniforms improve behaviour. In fact, those rare schools that do not have a uniform policy often perform as well as – and in some cases – better than those that do."

Here's what YOU thought:

Jenny Paralimnitis: "I think school uniform is a must as it gives children a sense of belonging, plus those that can not afford the latest fashions won't feel left out. Some schools have gone to far though, like everything there has to be a balance!"

David Brookes: "Uniform is cheaper than the clothes that kids would otherwise be pressurised into and gives them a clear lesson in life."

Karen Heslop: "Children learn with their brains not their uniforms"

Christian I'Anson: "Uniform is a great equaliser and makes it easy for children and parents. Also creates a common identity and sense of pride and community."

Kelly Moore: "If schools didn't have uniforms then there would be an even more obvious gap between rich/poor and people would be complaining that they couldn't afford to buy different outfits for every day or the week/trendy stuff to keep up with other kids.

"Schools can't win. Although isolating kids in the wrong uniform is utterly pointless and takes away the impact of such behaviour measures"