School ties are and always will be an enigma.

You ask why?

Quite simply, they have no real use other than to give recognition to the wearer- is that true?

I don’t think so- in fact, school ties are probably next to the school blazer, the most important article of school uniform to be worn.

The reason for this is simple- school ties tell a story. School ties give an identity to an individual coupled with a sense of belonging.

Why belonging? The fact is that if we wore a uniform that had no identification by way of a name or school badge or logo, what would be the value of the uniform other than to clothe one's body and create an environment where nobody is better than the other, the reason for this being that if the uniform is not identifiable then nobody knows who you are or where you come from or whom you represent.

So the fact that school ties create a sense of belonging and give identity to an individual is really massive because the benefits of that are obvious when assessing the value of school ties.

For example, the fact that school ties have a design, whether it's in the form of stripes or all-over School ties, logos or just one logo on a plain background justifies the existence of school ties.

School ties that contain a logo or crest are even better than a plain striped tie because they tell someone from outside who the wearer is, the wearer is a pupil or learner of a specific school in the area.

School ties that contain some wording telling exactly the name of the school are often the best because then nobody needs to struggle with who the wearer is in the context of which school they attend.

So really, even from that small way of thinking, one can truly see the value of school ties.

However, we can take school ties to another level altogether by inserting wording or insignia on the school ties explaining the nature and value of the specific school ties.

For example- matric, prefect, library monitor or 1^st 15 rugby player. Or better still captain of the 1^st 15 rugby side.

There is no limit to what can be displayed on school ties, pretty much anything to tell a further story of the achievements of the wearer- how cool is that?

The idea of having school ties made for special occasions is a very special one, simply because I digress once more to the start of this blog where I stated that school ties allow the wearer to feel part of their environment- where they belong- where they go to school.

But further to that, school ties that carry a special inscription like 'prefect', 'head boy' or 'head girl', which gives esteem to the wearer, and hold a value far greater than their weight in gold. Because this is something that has been earned, it has value only to the wearer who owns them. They stand as symbols of accomplishment, conveying excellence in a specific area and signifying the wearer's deserving recognition through these distinguished school ties.