Uniform and Equipment

Uniform Policy

School is a formal education setting so a high standard of personal appearance is expected of all members of the Blatch community. Uniform is important because it is inclusive, it ensures that the background or financial means of each family are not noticeable and students can focus on schooling rather than what to wear. Our guiding principles for the uniform are: value for money, durability, inclusivity and comfort.

Tutors will check that the correct Uniform is being worn. If there are temporary problems concerning the wearing of the correct school uniform, a note of explanation to the Tutor is required from a parent/carer.

Buying School Uniform

School Uniform can be purchased online from the Khalsa Schoolwear website. 

We have a stock of ties that can be purchased in school from the finance office.

Uniform Guidelines

The school uniform is gender neutral and where a choice of items is applicable these are available to all students. Primarily this may affect skirts, trousers, and shorts. The uniform is the same for all year groups and consists of a school jumper, shirt, tie, and a choice of skirt, trousers or (in the summer term only) shorts.

Item	Guidance
Shoes	A guide to appropriate footwear for the formal school setting can be found here. Black formal/dress shoes must be worn. Shoes with a high heel are not acceptable and all boots, including ankle boots are not permitted. Canvas shoes or trainers are not permitted and shoes should not have logos on them (e.g. sports brands).
Socks	Plain black or dark grey socks. White or coloured socks are not acceptable. Socks over tights of different colour are not acceptable.
Tights	Plain black, grey or flesh-coloured tights. Other coloured or patterned tights are not acceptable.
Skirts	Grey skirt, purchasable from Khalsa Schoolwear. Skirts must be worn at full length and should rest on or below the knee. No other styles or makes of skirt except the school skirt are acceptable.
Trousers	Plain dark grey formal trousers purchasable from Khalsa Schoolwear or other retailers which matches those on the Khalsa website (this includes most supermarkets). Chinos are not permitted. Trousers should be worn at full length and not rolled up.
Shorts	Plain dark grey formal shorts purchasable from Khalsa Schoolwear or other retailer which meets specifications are permitted in the Summer term only.
Shirt and tie	Formal plain white or plain light grey shirt with a collar. Shirt should be tucked in. BMS school tie – maroon / silver striped.
Jumper	Grey V-neck jumper with maroon stripe and BMS logo purchasable from Khalsa Schoolwear. No non-school jumpers allowed, including hoodies. Only school grey v-neck jumpers are permitted.
Headscarves	Where headscarves are worn as a religious observance, they must be plain black, grey or maroon.
Bag	Every student requires an appropriate size backpack or school bag. This needs to be big enough to hold a school chromebook, A4 folders or books.
Jewellery	A watch may be worn and one small stud per ear is permitted. Earrings, if worn, should be one small earring per ear. Large rings should not be worn for safety reasons. Large earrings, nose-studs and other piercings are not permitted.
Piercings	No facial piercings or tongue piercings to be worn in school.
Make-up	Students may wear light or minimum make-up. False eyelashes and excessive make-up is not acceptable.
Hair	Hair colour should appear natural. Extreme styles of hair are unacceptable. Please contact the Year office prior to any changes if you are unsure.
Outdoor Clothing	We strongly recommend that all students have an outdoor coat which needs to be removed when indoors. Hoodies, including those with zips, are not acceptable and must not be worn to school in place of an outdoor coat.
Hats	Hats are not permitted in school, unless worn when extremely cold and classrooms are being ventilated (Covid)

If these guidelines present difficulties for religious beliefs, we will be pleased to discuss them.

PE Kit

With our PE kit we have chosen a kit that allows students to participate effectively in sport at school in comfort but that also doubles up as a team kit our students can use at fixtures or sports day when representing Blatch. This avoids parents or school having to purchase an additional kit for fixtures. 

Currently, based on feedback, we have moved away from the use of changing rooms, making pupils more comfortable by not having to change in school and maximising learning time. This means on your child’s PE days the PE kit performs an important safeguarding function like our uniform does - it makes our pupils easily identifiable and those without uniform also easy to spot around the site. 

We have limited the number of items that are branded - the minimum needed to make students identifiable. These are competitively priced and all other uniform items can be purchased from any store so long as they match the items on the uniform website (e.g. grey trousers, shirts, PE socks, etc)

These are the compulsory items students must wear on PE days. This is the same for all year groups.

1. The PE T-shirt
This is the branded one from Khalsa. It is compulsory for all and ensures students are identifiable, like the school tie and jumper on other days.

2. Blatch PE shorts / Blatch PE skort from Khalsa  

3. Black Sports leggings / Black tracksuit bottoms  
Students can choose to wear shorts, or a skort - both of which are branded items from Khalsa. Alternatively they can wear plain black full length sports leggings or black tracksuit bottoms - these can be purchased from any provider as long as they are plain black with no logos or other designs. These are the only options. 

4. PE jumper (Khalsa) or a plain black jumper (no hoodies or brands)
Students should have the PE jumper or plain black jumper. This is important for days when we have more inclement weather.

5. Plain black long football socks 
These can be purchased from any provider as long as they are plain black with no logos or other designs.

6. Rain Jacket
Either the Blatch rain jacket or a plain black one to be used in inclement weather outside. 

6. Trainers
Any appropriate sports trainers are acceptable. Please avoid fashion trainers. 

Optional items

Base Layers – These can be purchased from any provider as long as they are plain black

Gum shield - Any type is acceptable. These are highly recommended for rugby (a necessity if you want to participate in contact rugby) and hockey, both of which all students participate in during year 7, 8 and 9. We sell them for £1 in September in the PE department or you can purchase your own elsewhere. Necessary for hockey and/or rugby club.

Shin pads - Any type is acceptable. These are highly recommended for hockey in year 7, 8 and 9 and football in year 8 and 9. Necessary for hockey and/or football clubs.

Boots - Any type is acceptable. These are highly recommended for rugby in lessons and necessary for contact rugby in lessons or at extracurricular club.

Equipment

*These are only examples from various affordable online vendors or shops. Parents/carers should not feel they have to purchase from these sites, they are examples to make it easier for parents/carers and many supermarkets and stores have whole ranges that can be bought in one go. Students do not need a compass or scissors - these are used less regularly and will be provided by subject teacher.

The following items should not be seen in school:

• Mobile phones are not permitted to be used in school and must not be seen in the day and should be stored in school bags. We know parents/carers may want to contact their children occasionally, if so please use the school. Call us or email and we can pass on messages to students rather than them trying to text home in the day. Alternatively, students can check messages when outside of school at the end of the day. In an urgent situation always call the school so we can relay messages sensitively.
• No skateboards or scooters to be brought into school, including motorised scooters. We do not have space to store or lock up these items. We do have bike racks for those wishing to cycle.
• No electronic devices to be used or brought onto the school site, including MP3 players, wireless headphones or Smart Watches. The school accepts no responsibility for such items should they be lost, damaged or be taken on the premises. These items are expensive and so we strongly advise they are not bought to school.
• Any of the above items worn or used incorrectly will be confiscated overnight for collection at the end of the next day, this includes mobile phones (parents are always text when a confiscation occurs).