Ipswich High School – School Uniform

By Miss Naomi Limer, Head of English
When Ipswich High School was founded in 1878 there was no official school uniform, except for gymnastics and dancing, for obvious practical purposes.
Of course, fashions for young girls were far less varied than today and therefore many of the girls wore simple pinafores, typically navy blue or black, and light-coloured blouses. Girls were however, obliged to wear black shoes and stockings. For special occasions such as the annual prize giving, white dresses with cherry red sashes were worn, tied alike under the left arm and knotted at the right shoulder.
By Edwardian times, although there was still no official school uniform, fashion had evolved with older girls tending to wear a white blouse and long dark skirt, and the option of wearing a red school tie was taken by many. Eventually, seasonal uniforms were established and by the 1920s this entailed a tunic of navy-blue serge with red smocking worn with a navy and red banded black hat and a red tie for winter and in summer, a blue and white cotton frock with a navy cardigan and a boater hat. Margaret Wake, who attended school between 1937 and 1943, recalled the impact that WW2 had on the wearing of uniform. “At the beginning of the war it consisted of navy-blue tunics, white blouses, red and white jerseys and blue blazers.
As the war progressed, the girls’ clothes became increasingly dilapidated. The seats of the tunics became first shiny, then filled with holes, and then darned. When the seat of the tunic became practically all darn and there was no material there to speak of, a patch was begged, borrowed, stolen or obtained somehow, and sewn on. As these patches were never exactly the same colour as the tunic, a rather gay and colourful effect was obtained. The jerseys became threadbare, darned in a wide range of hues, and often out- at-elbows. Stockings were impossible to get, and ankle-length socks were worn at school during the winter.”
The uniform became much more recognisable to that of today when in 1963, a new cherry red blazer, jumper and mid-length grey skirt were introduced for all pupils. Sixth form students could be slightly more relaxed and were allowed to wear a grey jumper with their skirts.
By the 1970s, things were relaxed further, and smart dresses could be worn instead of uniform during the summer months, but junior and senior pupils wore compulsory cherry red and grey diamond patterned dresses in summer and juniors also wore a cherry red beret with their winter uniforms.
We are fortunate that at some point, probably in the mid-1960s, a series of watercolour pictures of uniforms worn throughout the history of the school was created and a quick visit to the archives reveals these pictures carefully stored alongside old school badges, scarves, hats and even some of the old school tunics and blazers, which must be at least 80 years old, a selection of which are shown here.
When Ipswich High School transitioned to a
co-educational institution in 2018, the changes to the school uniform were minimal.
This reflected the school’s commitment to maintaining tradition while also being forward- thinking. The school crest was updated to a shield design, ensuring that all boys and girls could wear the same uniforms this change aimed to foster a sense of belonging within the IHS community for everyone.