The Purity of Mary Religious Congregation has made a significant alteration to the uniforms at its fourteen schools in Spain, including three schools in Tenerife, by eliminating skirts from the students’ attire. Instead, it has made it compulsory for all students to wear pants, a decision that has sparked objections from some parents.
According to the management of the Pureza de María School in Madrid, the reason behind the uniform change is to “facilitate better adaptation” to the active pedagogical methodologies implemented in the Pureza de María schools across Spain, as reported to Europa Press.
The school management specifies that The pants “provide increased freedom of movement and greater comfort” in active situations such as group activities or outdoor tasks. They also offer better protection against the cold and wind during winter,” they added.
The uniform unification process was initiated in Pureza de María Bilbao in 2019. This change, as reported by the Madrid center, is “an adaptation to new times”.
An Ongoing Nationwide Process
“It is a gradual process aimed at minimizing inconvenience to families as much as possible. Therefore, it is a transformation that will be completed over five academic years. As of today, the change has already been implemented in all our schools in Spain,” they emphasized.
The Purity of Mary Religious Congregation operates fourteen schools, offering education from Early Childhood to Baccalaureate levels, distributed among Tenerife (3), Mallorca (4), Comunitat Valenciana (3), Madrid (1), Sant Cugat del Vallès (1), Granada (1), and Bilbao (1).
“Each year we have initiated the process, we have received complaints from some parents, which we understand. Nevertheless, we believe that the benefits of this uniform unification are far greater, and we have witnessed a positive reception from the majority of families towards this decision,” concluded the Management of the Pureza de María School in Madrid.
In a circular issued to parents on January 19, the Pureza de María Madrid School informed families that, after careful consideration over several years, and in light of new educational methodologies and social changes, the Congregation “has made a significant alteration to the students’ uniform” across all its schools in Spain.
“We are the last school to implement this change, just as we were the last during the previous alteration. The most noteworthy aspect of the new uniform is that all students, regardless of gender, will be wearing pants. The pants will be camel-colored for all students of EP and ESO,” emphasized the school, while also stating that both male and female students have the option to wear long pants or shorts.
The circular also alerted families that the uniform manufacturer “will cease to supply skirts starting from the month of June 2024.”
“This summer, the production of skirts will stop, thus compelling us parents to purchase pants, regardless of the circumstances. The management team made this decision unilaterally without consulting the parents. Additionally, in 2018, they already enforced a change in the school uniform, incurring the cost of another change,” lamented one mother.
