WHAT is the point of a school blazer? It's too hot to wear in summer, too cold in winter, and particularly impractical in the rain. Blazers are not only not waterproof but, being woollen, become smelly when wet. They're uncomfortable to wear and spend more time hanging on the back of a seat and trailing on the dusty floor than on the back of a pupil.

Is it time to ditch the traditional uniform which has barely changed since the schooldays of the 1930s? Margaret McNeill, a principal teacher of art, thinks so. She

has recently completed one of

the first major pieces of research into school uniform and has

come to the conclusion that it's time to adopt more user-friendly school clothes.

Her thesis, completed as part of an MPhil post-graduate degree at the Glasgow School of Art, examines the purpose of school uniform, the ways pupils manage to adapt their uniform to show their individuality, and the kind of clothes parents and pupils would opt for, if given the choice.

Mrs McNeill's research is timely, given that just more than a year ago a discipline task force, set up by Jack McConnell when he was education minister, recommended all schools adopt a dress code.

As a teacher at St Ninian's High School in Kirkintilloch, Mrs McNeill believes wearing uniform does affect pupil behaviour. A number of pupils she interviewed said their attitude changed when they went home and changed

out of uniform.

One comment from a 16-year-old girl summed it up: ''You feel what you wear. You want to be glittery at night, joggies make you feel tired, relaxed. Uniform puts you in the mood for work. On a non-uniform day everyone is high - they don't want to work.''

But need that uniform take the traditional form of formal blazer, white shirt and tie, dark trousers/skirt, and formal gym kit? Lenzie Academy, just outside Glasgow, is typical of many Scottish schools which still insist on a traditional form of uniform.

Last year, the whole outfit for a pupil entering S1 cost (pounds) 169, the blazer alone (pounds) 83.

Julie Gray, now an S2 pupil, undoubtedly looks smart in the formal uniform, but even she complains the shirt and tie can be uncomfortable in hot weather. ''I like wearing my uniform because then you don't have competition for designer clothes, but sometimes I would like something more comfortable,'' she said.

With such high costs attached, however, is uniform really the social leveller it is supposed to be?

Mrs McNeill observes that uniform can expose the financial and social class differences almost as much as non-uniform. ''Kids know when a blazer is meant to be a woollen blazer and they are not convinced by the cheaper polyester alternative. Schools that want to push uniform often get companies like Man's World to do them. For instance, Holyrood Secondary in Glasgow has a

link-up with Asda. But kids say they don't want a cheap suit jacket - it isn't a blazer.

''Kids are really fashion conscious. They know quality when they see it.''

Aldercar Community School near Nottingham invited designer Paul Smith to help design a uniform that was both practical, stylish, and popular with pupils, parents, and teachers. Instead of a shirt and tie, Smith's team designed a blouse/shirt with a ribbon in the school colours stitched into the neck border. Likewise, a hooded sweatshirt had the school colours displayed on a ribbon attached to the zip. But, even then, parents expressed concern about the cost: (pounds) 15 for the shirt and (pounds) 19 for the hooded top.

Some schools have abandoned the blazer and opted instead for a school sweatshirt. The problem there, however, is that many have retained the shirt and tie, and sweatshirts cover the tie right up to the top button of the shirt, making the exercise rather pointless.

Mrs McNeill commends those schools - many of them primaries - which have opted instead

for polo shirts to be worn underneath sweatshirts.

One advantage is certainly cost. Caroline Thomson, mother of Craig Thomson, in S2 at Cleveden Secondary in Glasgow, paid

(pounds) 13 for the school sweatshirt, (pounds) 8 for the polo top, and (pounds) 10-(pounds) 14 for school trousers.

Craig's verdict is: ''I think it's cool. You don't get embarrassed when people see you walking down the street. It's nice and tidy and it's good in the winter because it's warm. I used to wear a blazer and shirt and tie when I was at primary school but I prefer the sweatshirt because it's more comfortable. I like wearing a uniform because you don't have to worry what other people are wearing. It keeps us equal.''

Mrs McNeill believes one of the main advantages of polo shirts in secondary school is that it prevents girls from copying the Britney Spears image of shirts unbuttoned as low as possible. She also observes that wearing traditional white shirts can be embarrassing for ''bigger'' girls who find the shirts too see-through. These girls can often be found, she says, sweltering in cardigans, jumpers, or sweatshirts because they are too sensitive about being seen in a thin white shirt that allows their bra to be seen.

When she went to school, skirt lengths were measured to make sure they were not too short. Today, mini-skirts are back in. What is more, it is difficult to find skirts which do not sit on the hip, says Mrs McNeill.

''The other thing that bothers me is the whole sex industry thing that goes on about schoolgirls and uniform. I think that schools should not have anything to do with perpetuating that image. There is a whole thing in Japan that is not healthy - a whole sleazy side there. With internet access nowadays, these things just spread,'' she added.

What, then, should the 21st-century pupil be wearing? ''Anything that will go into the washing machine and doesn't need ironed. There are lots of advances in fabric technology - trousers for boys that don't need to be ironed, possibly Teflon-coated.

''I think kids should be wearing something practical. All the adults I speak to want something serviceable, practical, and comfortable.''

Meanwhile, it is clear from Mrs McNeill's research, that wearing traditional uniform does not prevent young people from finding their own individual look. Some wear their school tie halfway down their shirt; some draw pictures on their ties; some pull threads to create lines across the tie; and girls in particular wear their ties loose, some even leave them untied, draped scarf-like round the neck. Uniform does not necessarily mean uniformity.

CLASS ACT: Lenzie Academy pupil Julie Gray. Picture: Colin Mearns