Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our Uniform Committee meets each term to assess and refine our suite of uniform items, ensuring that they meet the needs of our students. We also actively seek feedback through forums such as our Year 12 lunches and the Student Representative Council (SRC) to inform ongoing improvements.

The students’ perspective on uniform functionality, wear and comfort of items is important information as we work closely with representatives from Bob Stewart Kew to improve specific items.  Today’s editorial will provide an overview on our recent work – we are certainly not undertaking a project to introduce a new uniform!

Conscious of the importance of consistency, balanced with changing fashion trends, our focus is on continual improvement of uniform pieces and the suite available.  I was recently reading the 1990 Speech Night Address given by one of our Inspiring Women, Professor Louise Brearley Messer (Class of 1957 and Professor Emeritus of the Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne) where she referred to her uniform that included navy blue berets, white panama straw hats, navy blue wrist-length gloves and black patent leather shoes.  How times have changed!

The Camberwell Girls Grammar School uniform is a visible symbol of our school community and values, and we continue to take pride in it today.  It reflects our history, our identity today, and our aspirations for the future.  Our academic and sports uniforms are designed to support students in dressing for purpose, comfort, professionalism and pride.

School uniforms also play a crucial role in fostering a positive learning environment, ensuring that students comply with essential occupational health and safety standards, while also teaching them the importance of maintaining professional attire in such a setting. 

At Camberwell Girls we also adopt a trans-seasonal approach to our academic uniforms so that students can choose to wear the summer or winter uniform on any given day, unless there is a formal occasion where notice will be given about which uniform to wear.  This is important as each student experiences temperature change differently, and in Melbourne we cannot be assured of consistency of temperature in different seasons!

In recent months we have been addressing inconsistencies in the way uniform is worn by some students and at the same time we have reviewed and refreshed our existing Uniform Guidelines. This work has also been shared with members of the SRC for feedback and has resulted in some revisions and clarifications which are important as we work towards greater consistency in the wearing of the uniform and general appearance. 

The updated Uniform Guidelines are aligned with safety protocols, specifying the types of shoes students should wear and outlining when scarves are permitted. We have also clarified aspects of student presentation that families have frequently asked about, including acceptable hair colours and the number of ear piercings.

We have also introduced the opportunity to wear some garments more frequently such as the polar fleece vest into the academic range – just not as the outer garment outside the school.  We now have fewer compulsory items for the sports uniform and we are continuing to review the comfort and functionality of some items.

Staff have also been briefed and have provided feedback on our Uniform Guidelines. To help ensure that they are upheld, in addition to staff, we are also seeking the support of our community, including our parents. Your partnership is essential in helping our students understand the importance of our uniform and the role it plays in maintaining the strong reputation of our school. By working together, we can continue to foster an environment where respect, tradition, and excellence are valued and visible every day.

We will be sharing the updated guidelines with all students, and they will sit alongside our broader uniform policy expectations. We encourage open conversations at home about the significance of our uniform and the standards we collectively uphold, and we ask you to keep this in mind as you purchase and organise uniform items for next year.