It is a far cry from the 1970s when blazers and standardissue shirts and ties were deemed repressive and children were encouraged to express themselves and wear whatever they wished.

Designers now borrow readily from schoolgirl chic. In Milan this year Pringle favoured plus fours and brown kilts. Those men who could not afford Marc Jacobs originals were urged to unearth their old school cricket jumpers, striped scarves and linen trousers. Uniform is in. Some designers are even turning their hand to this growing area themselves.

Pupils at Aldercar secondary school near Nottingham have arguably the country’s trendiest uniform, designed by Sir Paul Smith. Girls at the specialist language school wear stylish V-neck shirts with a rolled collar and in place of the unloved school tie, their breast pocket is decorated with three stripes of blue, purple and black.

Boys have white shirts with the stripes running down the front in place of the tie. Chris Bancroft, the assistant head, admitted that although it was popular with the girls, many boys wore a traditional plain white shirt and school tie because the more fashionable version was also more expensive. “The girls mostly wear it because it looks very stylish but a lot of the lads have gone back to wearing the shirt and tie. You get ones who would rather be stylish and others who can’t be bothered. Parents very much like uniforms though and the uniform policy is very well supported. It avoids a lot of problems.”

A survey commissioned last year by the Department for Education and Skills found that 83 per cent of parents favoured school uniform and 68 per cent believed that it contributed to improved discipline.

Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary, said: “Heads who turn around failing schools tell us that uniforms play an important part in their work to raise standards.”

Uniforms went out of fashion in the 1970s as part of the “progressive” reaction against traditional schooling. But the pendulum gradually swung back towards a dress code, particularly from the late 1980s as the new grant-maintained secondary schools sought to build a distinctive image.

By the mid-1990s, Labour was advocating uniforms for all schools as part of the Blairite revision of education policy. David Blunkett, then Shadow Education Secretary, backed uniforms in 1996 as an important part of creating “a culture of learning” in schools.

Alan Smithers, Professor of Education, says the return to school uniform occurred after research showed conclusively that uniform promotes a common sense of identity among pupils and puts them on an equal footing. “Boys can wear ties at half mast and girls can hitch up their skirts a few inches, but generally it is easier to develop a school’s values and often leads to better behaviour,” he said.

At Hove-based Klassy Kids, Joy Twigg has been supplying school uniforms for 16 years and has recently noticed a surge in interest. However she says the children have also become much more fashion-conscious. Last year Britney Spears, the pop singer, single-handedly pioneered the return of the pleated tweed skirt; now it is the A line.

“Pleats are totally out of favour this year, all they want are swish A-line skirts, even the tinies, perhaps with a zip or a heart on the pocket,” she says. The cost of a primary school uniform is still relatively low at around £24, rising to about £40 for secondary schools. But over the years, the blazer has become the least favoured article of clothing and has been replaced by sweatshirts and fleeces.

“Uniform is much less rigid than it was,” she says. “In my day, if you were seen without your beret you had to do detention.”

In Swansea, Brian Garrington, 59, owner of Schoolwearonline.com supplies school uniforms around the world. He too has seen the demise of school blazers, but is still receiving orders for them from America, Kuwait, Germany, Italy and recently sent 120 to St Kitts in the Caribbean. However at Fortismere comprehensive school in Muswell Hill, North London, uniform was banned by the governors when it was founded in 1983 and Martin Henson, the deputy headmaster, sees no reason to change. “It works really well here. Obviously you can have problems with what is acceptable.” he says, “Three years ago we said girls must not show their midriff, and then their mothers did, so they couldn’t see why not; but we still try to get them to cover up.” Mr Henson says he has never noticed excessive competition between the pupils, who tend to wear jeans, T-shirts and trainers into school.

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