Uniform

Academia - Opportunity - Belonging

At The Lenham School, we believe that excellent uniform is part of setting high academic standards. As a result,students will be expected to adhere to our uniform requirements at all times. This means that uniform must be worn correctly both in and out of school. As you may be aware, the Department for Education has issued new guidance around school uniforms, with a particular focus on keeping costs down for families and limiting the number of compulsory branded items.

In response to this, and to ensure consistency across all Valley Invicta Academies Trust secondary schools, we will be making some changes to The Lenham School uniform from September 2026.

We understand that any change to uniform is significant, but we believe these adjustments will benefit students and families in the long term. Consistent uniform across our schools helps to build pride in our community and ensures that all students feel part of something meaningful.

Under the new guidelines, from September 2026, there will only be four compulsory branded items:

Blazer (no change to existing item)
Grey knee-length skirt/trousers (no change to existing item)
School tie – (new style)
PE top (no change to existing item)

The following items will no longer be branded:

Open Neck shirt
Jumper
PE skort/shorts
PE leggings
PE sweatshirt

Students will wear either a collared, white shirt with a tie, or a white, open neck (revere) shirt with no tie (this replaces the grey striped open-neck shirt). The current black knitted V-neck jumper will change to a grey knitted V-neck jumper. None of these items (except the tie) need to be purchased from an official uniform supplier.

All items of PE kit, other than the PE top (as above) will be unbranded and do not need to be purchased from an official uniform supplier. We ask that you do not buy designer items for PE kit.

As a result, this will mean that overall uniform costs will reduce, as families will have more flexibility in where they purchase non-branded items. You can find a full list of school uniform towards the bottom of this page.

We also want to reassure you that:

Students in Year 8 and above (from September 2026) will only need to purchase new uniform items as and when required, and may continue to wear their current uniform until they outgrow it.
The new Year 7 cohort in September 2026 will be the first to wear the full new uniform from the start of the school year.

Our current official school uniform suppliers are Pages Schoolwear and Monkhouse Schoolwear, who both offer competitively priced uniform bundles. All relevant information can be found on their websites:

Pages - https://pages-schoolwear.co.uk
Monkhouse - https://www.monkhouse.com

If you have any questions or concerns about the changes next year, please contact the school office in the first instance.

Uniform Item	Branded items (to be purchased from official uniform supplier)	Unbranded items (can be purchased from any retailer)
Blazer	x
Grey knee-length skirt or trousers (with logo)	x
White, collared shirt (with top button) to be worn with tie OR white, open-neck (revere) shirt (no tie required)		x
Clip-on tie (to be worn with white, collared shirt)	x
Grey knitted V-neck jumper		x
Black tights (to be worn with skirt), 30 denier or higher		x
Black ankle socks (to be worn with trousers year-round, and skirt during summer term)		x
Black shoes (see uniform information for acceptable styles)		x
PE top	x
Black mid-thigh PE skort/shorts		x
Black PE tracksuit bottoms/leggings		x
Black PE sweatshirt/fleece, no hood		x
Black hockey/football socks		x
Black PE ankle socks		x
Shin pads		x
White trainers, non-marking soles		x
Black football boots, moulded studs		x

Should you be experiencing financial difficulties and require support with the purchase of uniform or wish to enquire about our second hand uniform please contact the school office office@thelenham.viat.org.uk in the first instance.

You can read the letter sent out in November 2025 regarding uniform changes here.

You can see previous uniform information here.

You can find the Trust's uniform policy on the policy page.

Click on the sections below for more detailed uniform information.

PE Kit - Sept 2026

PE KIT

The Lenham School PE Top
Black mid-thigh PE Skort/Shorts
Black PE Tracksuit bottoms/leggings
Black PE Sweatshirt/fleece, no hood
Black hockey/football socks
Black PE ankle socks
Football boots (moulded studs, no metal studs or blades).
Trainers with non-marking soles
Plain black football socks.
Black PE bag.
Shin pads
Gum shield.

School Bag

SCHOOL BAG GUIDELINES

An appropriate, waterproof and sealable bag should be purchased for the protection of all school items. Because students carry items of a reasonable weight in the bag, drawstring bags are not acceptable. Bags should be dark in colour and logos should be discreet. Fashion bags, carrier bags and handbags are not acceptable. Our preferred style of bag is a satchel or a rucksack.

In cases of any dispute regarding the suitability of uniform the Headteacher’s decision is final.

Summer Uniform Adjustment

SUMMER UNIFORM ADJUSTMENTS:

During Term 6 and in prolonged spells of very warm weather the Headteacher may implement a Summer Uniform dress code. The adjustments under this temporary change are as follows:

Blazers are optional. Please note that the wearing of the school jumper as an alternative to the blazer is not allowed as part of this temporary change. Blazers must not be folded and carried in school bags.
Plain black ankle socks may be worn instead of tights.

Hair, Jewellery, Makeup

It is expected that students wear their uniform with pride. This means:

No jewellery except ONE small plain stud in the lobe of each ear. No other piercings are allowed.
Hair should be of a natural colour
A smart business environment appropriate hair style. Hair must not be worn as a fashion statement. Cropped or shaved styles are not acceptable.
Hair Accessories - Should be small and discreet.
Make up is not allowed unless discreet.
Nail polish and false nails are not permitted.
No visible tattoos are permitted.

Guidelines

Belts must be black, narrow and of a traditional style.
Coats and scarves must be appropriate, weatherproof, and dark in colour. Any logos must be discreet.
It is expected that students wear their uniform with pride. This means;
- Top button fastened at all times.
- Shirt tucked in at all times.
- Skirts should be worn on the knee.
- Blazers to be worn at all times unless a teacher allows removal in the classroom; jumpers are not to be worn instead of the blazer and the blazer should always be the outer layer.
- Tights should be black, 40 denier for winter and 7 denier for summer.
- No jewellery except ONE small plain stud in the lobe of each ear. No other piercings are allowed.
- A smart business environment appropriate hair style. Hair must not be worn as a fashion statement. Cropped or shaved styles are not acceptable.
- Hair Accessories – small, discreet, plain hair bands/clasps (grey or black). No bows, scarfs or scrunchies. Hair accessories are not to be worn on the wrist as jewellery.
- Make up and nail polish are not allowed unless neutral and discreet. False nails are not permitted.
- No visible tattoos are permitted.
- Coats should be removed in buildings.

Second Hand Uniform

Second Hand Uniform provision

We know that uniform can be an expensive requirement for our families and with this in mind, we want to help our school community buy making good-quality second-hand uniform easily available to everyone.

Many items of uniform have a longer life beyond the point when our pupils have outgrown them and could be re-used by another pupil. As well as saving families money, re-using uniform also reduces our impact on the environment.

To support our scheme, we are asking families to donate any unwanted items of uniform that are in good condition and could be worn by another pupil to the Personal Development Centre or School Office.

Regular second-hand uniform sales will take place on the following dates from 4 – 6pm top floor of Main Building.

10 and 11 January 2024
8 February 2024
20 and 21 March 2024

Outside of these dates, please contact the school office office@thelenham.viat.org.uk We will ask for a small donation to be made, this money will go towards establishing a fund to support those facing hardship in our Lenham School community.

Our Trust Uniform Policy can be found here