To wear or not to wear - the uniform question is always a contentious one. Parents have strong opinions - and if they don't like the idea of a uniform, they really mean it.

"I went out of my way to send my daughter to this school, largely because they had no school uniform, and now, all of a sudden, they've introduced one. I'm terribly disappointed," says Catriona, whose eight-year-old daughter goes to a national school a good 20-minute drive from their home.

"For the past 40 years there has been no uniform in this school. I had a uniform as a child and I hated it. Apart from the fact that it was ugly, for years I had to walk around looking like a photocopy of every other girl in the school. I really wanted my daughter to have the chance to express her individuality at school."

In general, however, both parents and teachers seem to prefer uniforms. According to a survey on the cost of "free" education conducted by the National Parents Council (Primary), parents would appear to see uniforms as the easy option.

"Most primary school children do seem to wear a uniform," says Fionnuala Kilfeather, national co-ordinator of the NPC

, "but there is a lot of flexibility. Schools would stipulate a certain colour top and bottom, rather than insisting children buy a particular uniform from a particular shop.

"By and large parents feel uniforms are a social leveller. It removes peer pressure for expensive labels. It also makes life that bit easier every morning - there is no question of arguments over what children want to wear to school."

Some schools do have a particular uniform, which can be expensive enough if you have a few children at the same school. But parents find that where there is a certain amount of leniency a uniform can work out a lot cheaper than keeping wardrobes stocked with fashionable outfits. "A lot of schools would just ask the children to wear a track suit," Kilfeather says. "Something like that is ideal for both boys and girls - the girls can feel a bit restricted if they have to wear a skirt. Some schools decide against a uniform but implement a `no-labels' policy, which parents are happy with. "What is most important is the interpretation a school puts on the uniform. It's not on to humiliate a child who doesn't have the precise uniform. There shouldn't be a huge issue made out of it - you have to have a common-sense approach."

Apart from Britain, school uniforms are relatively rare in many other European countries. They tend to be the preserve of the very rich, worn by children who go to expensive schools. "We seem to have adopted the British preference for uniforms," Kilfeather says. "But there are a lot of parents here who have a strong objection to them. Children who don't wear a uniform have a certain amount of self-determination. Choosing what to wear each day - within reason - is an opportunity for self-expression, and some parents feel this is very important."

Karen O'Callaghan has four children, two at a primary school which has just introduced a uniform. "My top priorities choosing a school were that it should be mixed and that there was no uniform," she says. "The uniform was voted in by the parents because of a problem with children competing with one another. But I feel that this should have been used as an opportunity to teach children certain values, and that difficulties parents have with what their children wear in the morning should be resolved at home. I don't think the introduction of a uniform is any solution.

"It is very frustrating. Learning to dress appropriately is part of the growing-up process, and I want my children to have a reasonable amount of choice in what they wear. Now I feel someone else's choice is being imposed on me, and my children. "My son is very angry. They weren't consulted on what the uniform would be, and he feels it's an infringement of his rights. I'm not going to get the new top, but I'm worried about how it will affect my children. We don't know how wearing the uniform will be enforced, and we don't know whether or not children who don't wear it will be stigmatised."

According to Kilfeather, how a change like the introduction of a uniform is approached is very important. "It should be done in consultation with the parents and the children. If the children have a say in the uniform itself, they will feel a sense of ownership and probably be happier to wear it."

Karen O'Callaghan feels the introduction of a uniform at the school her children go to could have long-term implications. "The majority of the parents did vote the uniform in, but I feel there was a certain amount of manipulation, which I'm very unhappy with. I also feel it has split the school down the middle and created a lot of disappointment - especially among parents who have had their children at the school for years."