Uniform Change from Student Leader Initiative

 

A significant change to our uniform is happening this academic year.  Starting this academic year, students in Junior School and Senior School will be wearing house ties instead of the boys and girls gendered ties. Spearheading this initiative to House ties is Crystal G (Year 12) and Grace X (Year 13), House Prefect and Head Girl respectively.  

“To me, it seemed like an amazing way to promote House spirit and community within the students, as well a source of decorative flare to the uniform itself,” says Crystal.

The sample House ties were met with much enthusiasm with the student body during the survey period in Term 3 of last year. 

Grace comments, “The driving force was incorporating more house spirit into the normal uniform, and we took inspiration from the house ties proposed by DCSPD and the house murals. Since we wanted to encourage house spirit and remove the gendered element of the original tie, the house ties were a suitable solution that allowed us to achieve both goals.”

The conversation about house ties then brought up additional discussions about the overall about the DCSZ uniform and issues of comfort and inclusivity. Grace surveyed many of the female students in Senior School to understand how they felt about the options. Grace presented the feedback to Mr Mark Jones, Head of Senior School and Ms Maria English, Director of Admissions and Marketing.  

“Grace brought us some very valuable feedback about how students feel about different aspects of the uniform specifically surrounding being more gender-neutral and inclusive for students whose bodies are changing. I’m really inspired by both her and Crystal’s initiative to really push us to make a change. We are definitely listening,” comments Ms English.

As a College, student agency -- student voice and action that brings positive change to a community -- is what we celebrate. We value the courage, confidence and collaborative efforts that our student leadership bring to DCSZ and giving them a platform to truly see that their thoughts and idea have significance and can make a difference. 

Head of Senior School Mark Jones comments, “An important aspect of the Dulwich education is the development of student agency and leadership. We want to make sure that all students have the opportunity to develop these skills and make a positive impact on the College community and beyond. This is one example of the many successful student projects in the Senior School, and we invite all students to come forward if they have ideas that they would like to pursue.”