British Schoolboy Uniforms

Great Britain is the birthplace of the school uniform and over the years schoolboys have worn a wide variety of official school dress. The traditional English schoolboy, dressed in blazer, cap and short trousers, and carrying a shiny leather satchel, is to some extent a relic of the historical past although the image lives on in films, cartoons and advertisements.

The time-honoured blazer with the school badge on the breast pocket is still worn by many pupils, but caps, short trousers and satchels are now mostly the preserve of the more traditional preparatory schools. These pages illustrate a selection of these uniforms and provide some details of their history.