Uniform Guidelines

St Columba Anglican School aims to foster a sense of pride and belonging to the School and encourage students to understand the importance of personal appearance. How the uniform is worn says a great deal about who we are as a community and how we value the School we belong to. Compliance with the School Uniform Policy is considered an essential condition of enrolment. Parents and carers are expected to support the School in ensuring their child(ren) abide by this policy.

Each parent who enrols their child at St Columba enters into a contract whereby the school offers certain services in terms of education and care. The other side of this contract is that the parent/s accept that the school has the right to impose its rules, expectations of behaviour etc for the period of enrolment.

Personal appearance areas that the School has the right to adjudicate on include:

• The mode and manner in which a uniform is worn;

• The type of uniform to be worn;

• The times a uniform is required to be worn;

• The amount of visible jewellery worn with the uniform (including earrings, bracelets/bangles, necklaces, piercings etc);

• Hair styles, length, colour;

• The general appearance of a student, with reference to such adornments as tattoos.

General Information

• Correct uniform in good repair must be worn at all times.

• All uniforms are marked clearly with the student’s full name (not initials).

• Students may use only an official SCAS backpack. Students’ names should be printed clearly on the bag. School bags must not be defaced in any way by stickers, transfers, writing or colouring. Students will be required to buy a new bag to replace defaced or badly damaged bags. Information on how to organise and wear your backpack can be found here. 

• The summer uniform is to be worn in Terms 1 and 4, with the winter uniform to be worn from 1 June to 31 August inclusive. During the shoulder weeks in April/May of Term 2 and September of Term 3, families may choose the more appropriate uniform for the weather conditions. In 2024, students who have purchased the new uniform can wear the same uniform all year. There is no summer and winter uniform in the new design.

• The School blazer is a compulsory uniform item for Years 11 and 12 and optional for Year 10.  The blazer is required for all school assemblies, excursions and formal occasions. Senior students are also expected to wear their blazers to and from school and leave school at any time of the day. Blazers are also worn during Terms 2 and 3 when students represent the school or in a public area, including the School Cafe.  

• In Primary School, the sports cap is not worn with the summer and winter uniforms. 

• Students must wear SCAS Sports socks, available from the Uniform Shop during sports days, and grey socks for boys (navy socks for new boys' uniform) and navy socks for girls with their Winter and Summer uniforms.

• Primary School SCAS Art Smock. The Smock is available for purchase from the Uniform Shop. 

Physical Education/Sports Uniform for all students

• SCAS sports polo shirt with school emblem 

• For Primary students, there is the choice of either the SCAS sports polo or their coloured House shirt

• SCAS navy shorts with school emblem

• SCAS sports jacket with school emblem

• SCAS navy track pants to match the jacket

• SCAS white sports socks (extended team socks are required if competing in rugby, soccer, futsal and hockey teams)

• Sports shoes must provide support and grip for all sporting activities, which means they must be an athletic runner or cross-trainer shoe with laces to be tied up at all times. ‘Volley’ style, skate shoes and shoes without laces are not permitted. 

• SCAS navy sports cap with school emblem (Years 3-12)

• SCAS commando/floppy navy hat with school emblem – (Years K-2) 

Uniform Guidelines for Physical Education and Sports Uniform

Sports uniforms can be worn to and from school on Sports Days (including Athletics and Swimming Carnivals). 

For Secondary students, the following guidelines should be followed on PE days:

If PE falls during periods 1 or 2, students are to wear their sports uniform to school and will be given 10 minutes at the end of the lesson to change back into their full school uniform. This will be the morning session for PE uniform purposes.

If PE falls during periods 3, 4 or 5, students must wear their full school uniform to school and change into their sports uniform during the long break. They will leave school in their sports uniform. This will be the afternoon session for PE uniform purposes.

Students in PDHPE electives (PASS, GOW, ADP, FSP) at times will have two practical lessons in the day and can attend school in sport uniform for the duration of the day.

The school sports hat is a compulsory part of the sports uniform and must be worn at all times when participating in outdoor sporting activities.

Sports shoes must provide support and grip for all sporting activities, which means they must be an athletic runner or cross-trainer shoe with laces to be tied up at all times. ‘Volley’ style, skate shoes and shoes without laces are not permitted.

The School jumper is not part of the sports uniform and therefore must not be worn with the sports uniform. The only exception to this rule is cooler days when the jumper may be worn under the sports jacket. At no time should the jumper be worn without the jacket as this jacket is always the first item of warmth.

Guidelines for Swimming Carnivals

For Primary School - please ensure that your student has the following items, clearly named:

• Plain one-piece bathers (girls)

• Speedos or all in one bathers (boys)

• School Sports uniform, including correct House Shirt (available from the School Uniform shop)

• Correct sports socks and fully enclosed shoes

• School Broad Brimmed hat

• Sunscreen (coloured zinc is allowed for the face only) for regular application

• Sun shirts (optional but recommended whilst not competing)

• Towel

• Swimming Cap and/or goggles (optional)

• Food for recess, lunch and snacks. Students should also bring a supply of water (not in glass please)

• Any First Aid requirements (including medications, strapping etc.)

For Secondary School - students must wear their full SCAS school sport uniform to and from the carnival including SCAS house shirt in the appropriate house colour.

Year 12 students may wear House colour costume/dress which follows the school mufti clothing guidelines (noting that thongs are permitted to wear on this day), however appropriate swimming attire must be worn to compete in races. 

Students should also bring:

• A broad-brimmed SCAS hat (or sports cap)

• A supply of sunscreen for application as required throughout the day and sunglasses

• Suitable swimming costume, which would consist of a one-piece swimming costume or a two piece racing costume for girls. Bikinis may be worn but only with a rash/sun shirt over. 

For sun protection, students will be required to wear appropriate clothing and remain in a shaded area where possible when they are not competing.

Year 12 Jerseys

How the uniform is worn says a great deal about who we are as a community and how we value the School we belong to. Compliance with the School Uniform Policy is considered an essential condition of enrolment. Parents and carers are expected to support the School in ensuring their child abides by this policy. Personal appearance areas that the School has the right to adjudicate on include the mode and manner in which a uniform is worn; the type of uniform to be worn; the times a uniform is required to be worn.

The following list details the rules regarding the Year 12 jerseys:

Students can wear their jerseys:

• To class - for most students, this will be between 8:50am - 3:20pm

• During Long Break, Short Break and Study periods

• Fortnightly Focus Days, where there are no visitors to the school

Students cannot wear jerseys:

• Outside of the school grounds 

• On excursions

• Travelling to and from school (blazers must be worn to and from school) 

• At assemblies

• At formal Year Meetings

• When there is a guest speaker present

• At Chapel services

• At the front of the school

• At the Iona Cafe (blazers must be worn at the cafe)

• The Iona Cafe - before, during or after school (blazers required to, at and from the Cafe)

• Outside of school

• Whilst at the front of the school 

• Underneath their blazers

Remember this is a privilege. School uniform detentions can be issued for those students not following the expectations around jerseys.

Dance Uniform

A compulsory dance uniform is required for all Dance Elective and Co-Curricular Dance lessons. This includes the SCAS Dance leotard and leggings for girls, or the SCAS Dance shirt and shorts/long pants for boys. This uniform is available for purchase at the uniform shop. We will allow a short period of time to accommodate new orders. Students should be in full uniform by mid Term 1. Hair should be neatly groomed. At St Columba we have a dance uniform so that we represent the school in the wider community with pride thanks to our embroidered logos and uniformity. Every piece of the selected uniform is form fitting for safe dance practice, exceptional flexibility, movement efficiency, temperature control and durability.

Sun Safety

St Columba Anglican School has Sun Safety guidelines in place and the key aspects of the guidelines are:

• Students are required to wear the School hat to and from school, and in the grounds before and after school. Students should wear the sports cap during PE, outdoor classes, lunch breaks and at other times when prolonged exposure to the sun may occur. 

• Sunscreen should be supplied and applied regularly by students when exposed to the sun.

• We would encourage students to wear rash shirts or other protective clothing at swimming carnivals. Conservative style sunglasses to protect eyes can be worn where practical. 

Mufti Day (Non-Uniform) Guidelines

All students must be dressed in a neat and appropriate manner.  For the purposes of safety, the following guidelines apply when wearing ‘mufti’:

• Students MUST wear fully covered shoes and appropriate clothing.

• Exposed shoulders, singlet style/shoulder straps, very short skirts and shorts, and bare midriffs are not considered suitable. 

• Sandals, high heels and thongs are not permitted at school.

• Tee shirts or other items or clothing must not display any inappropriate messages or logos. 

• Normal school rules regarding hair, makeup and jewellery still apply on mufti days. 

• In Secondary School only, girls may wear their hair out when not doing practical activities during the day.

If a student has a Physical Education lesson that day then appropriate sports shoes must be worn or brought to school. If students do not comply with this they will not be permitted to participate in any practical lesson. 

School Shoes

The following guidelines should be kept in mind when purchasing school shoes:

• For students in Years 3 to 12 plain black leather polishable lace-up school shoes, which fully cover the entire foot and designed for school wear, must be worn with the summer and winter uniforms. Shoes must be lace-up. Buckle-up and velcro shoes are only permitted in Kindergarten to Year 2 .  'Mary Jane' styles are not permitted for older students as they do not cover the entire foot.

• Shoes must not resemble skate, casual or sneaker style, regardless of the construction material, and should not be chunky or decorated with coloured stitching, brass eyelets or any patterned etching and must not be suede or patent leather. 

• Soles must not be crepe or heavily rippled. Black jogger-style or Converse-style shoes are not permitted.

• Shoes are to be clean and regularly polished. 

See "Uniform Guidelines for Physical Education and Sports Uniform" (above) for information regarding sports shoes.

Shoe styles shown below are an indication of the styles of shoes approved for wearing with the SCAS Uniform.