I am writing to inform you of changes to school uniform that will be introduced from September 2017. This letter is to give you advance warning of these changes and to ensure that if you are buying items of school uniform between now and the start of the new academic year that you are aware of the new requirements. These changes will affect all year groups, Years 7 – 11.

The reason for the changes is two-fold:

1. To reflect the changes to the school in recent years as the school has rebranded itself in terms of school colours and logos which began with the addition of Braintree Sixth Form to our community in 2009 right up to the introduction of the house system in 2016. The blazer badge will be updated to show our current logos, as seen on the website and other official documentation, of Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form. We will also be changing the tie. We will provide your son/daughter with a new badge and the new ties will be available from our uniform supplier.
2. To improve the current standard of uniform being worn by students in the school, particularly by our female students, and to ensure that we have a cost effective, smart uniform that is followed consistently by all of our student body. There are currently too many of our female students taking too wide an interpretation of what constitutes acceptable black school skirts and from our conversations with several parents/carers we are keen to eliminate any potential ambiguity on this. We are introducing a standardised kilt-style skirt as part of our school uniform. These will be sold by SWI Schoolwear http://www.swischoolwear.co.uk/ who also stock our other items of school uniform. A governors’ working party has narrowed the choice to two colour options, and these options will be put to the staff and to the Student Council for a final decision later this month.

This change will ensure smarter standards of appearance from our students and crucially will mean that valuable staff time is not spent dealing with issues relating to problems with school uniform. From conversations with parents/carers we know many of you will welcome the clarity over what constitutes the correct uniform and where to purchase this.

We have decided to leave the trousers option for boys and girls unchanged. Trousers are available from our uniform supplier but should you decide to purchase alternatives, please ensure that the trousers adhere to the school uniform policy.

The new skirt for female students comes in differing sizes and lengths to ensure that this is available to the required knee length. The skirts will retail between £18.00 and £24.00 (depending on size) and will also be available from our uniform supplier, SWI Schoolwear. We will have the full range of sizes in school in the summer term so that female students can try on different sizes to ensure that the correct size is ordered.

I hope the advance notice of this new requirement will enable you to plan your uniform purchases for the new academic year. Please note that our current uniform requirements remain unchanged for the rest of this academic year.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation in this matter and for your support for the standards we wish to uphold as a school.

Yours faithfully

Mr D Conway
Headteacher