Following the government’s decision to open a consultation into school uniforms, we decided to ask the Manx public what they thought of them.

We also asked them what their school uniform memories were, which prompted some interesting answers.

Clive and Jacqueline Bush, from Ramsey, believes that uniforms relieve pressure from both students and the teachers.

Clive said: ‘It’s a standard that all of the parents have got to stick to and you can still get them at a reasonable price.

‘Whereas if you don’t have school uniforms then obviously there’s huge pressure of kids saying “I wanna wear Adidas stuff, I wanna wear other brand names”.

‘I think it teaches self-discipline, pride in your appearance and pride in the school.’

Jacqueline, who attended Abbotsford School, in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, said: ‘I even had to where white gloves. We weren’t even allowed to be seen eating an apple in the street.

‘Even now I wouldn’t be caught drinking or eating anything in the street. I have to go into a cafe or sit on a bench.’

Kevin Quirk and his wife Rosemary, also said that though they thought uniforms were a good idea, they had some opinions about the modern standards of them.

Kevin said: ‘I think it’s important because, nowadays, kids want to pay for the best gear and some families can’t afford that.

‘Even when our kids were at school they wanted the best trainers, the best this, the best that, and with uniform everybody’s dressed the same.’

Rosemary said: ‘Our grandson across goes to pre-school and they’re lucky over there because they have Asda and all those shops whereas we only have the options of Marks & Spencer, Tesco or order online.

‘But in Lidl, Aldi, Asda, you can get packs of reasonably-priced stuff.’

She continued: ‘It must be because we’re getting older, but skirts are getting higher and higher.

‘We had to have it right below the knee and that’s going back a long time.’

Mother and daughter, Alison and Rebecca Cregeen, from Castletown, both went to Castle Rushen High School and saw the benefits of uniforms but thought more could be done to make them more accessible for those struggling.

Alison said: ‘I think the uniform is a good thing, but it’s the price of them that’s the problem.

‘I think more could be done to be able to hand them down second-hand. We didn’t really have that when I was at school.’

Rebecca said: ‘School uniform meant that you didn’t have to struggle to pick something out, that you just kind of wore the same thing as everyone else.

‘I think fashion at that age is a bit of a thing, so it’s easier if you just wear one outfit, everyone is comfortable that way.

‘But then again, fashion is expression so I guess it has its good and bad points.’

Jen Adams, from Peel, went to a school in Kent and rounded off the support for the uniforms.

She said: ‘I think that school uniforms are a great idea.

‘In my opinion, if children weren’t expected to wear uniforms each day then it might put pressure on them and the parents as to what the children are going to wear to school everyday.’

‘When we had “own clothes days”, I was always really stressed.’