Uniform & Essential Equipment

Year 7 Uniform 2026

Hair

• To be natural – no unnatural colour, extensions, hair sculpture, decorative shaved patterns are also not permitted.
• North Oxfordshire Academy has adopted The Halo Code, the UK's first Black hair code. No Black staff or students should have to change their natural or protective hairstyle in order to thrive at our school. We hope that the Halo Code will move us one step closer to a world free from discrimination, where all Black members of our community have their identities fully recognised and celebrated.
• Students must not have eye-brow lines/hair lines/shaved patterns these are not permitted.

The Halo Code: 

"Our school champions the right of staff and students to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black staff and students’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance. We welcome Afro-textured hair worn in all styles including, but not limited to, afros, locs, twists, braids, cornrows, fades, hair straightened through the application of heat or chemicals, weaves, wigs, headscarves, and wraps. At this school, we recognise and celebrate our staff and students’ identities. We are a community built on an ethos of equality and respect where hair texture and style have no bearing on anyone's ability to succeed."

Make-up

Students are permitted to wear light foundation and mascara only.  (Discreet false eyelashes are also permitted.)

Summer Uniform Variations

The academy may permit students to stop wearing their blazers or make other uniform adjustments on a particular day. This will be communicated in advance via ARBOR to parents and carers. Shorts may be worn; they must be navy tailored shorts (length just above the knee) only with no additional pockets.

Essential Equipment

We ask for the support of parents/ carers in ensuring children to come to the academy fully equipped and ready to learn. We have high expectations of our students, and if students fail to bring the correct equipment to school vital learning time is lost. We expect our students to take responsibility for their learning, and we also realise that future employers would expect workers to arrive at the workplace with the correct equipment.

Your child should leave home each morning with the following equipment:

An appropriate school Bag – (preferably a back-pack) Vital to keep all equipment and knowledge organiser in.

PE Kit - Please check with your child when PE is timetabled, so they pack their kit.

Refillable water bottle – Please send your child in to school with a refillable water bottle.

The following equipment is required by every student every day. Equipment checks will take place at tutor time each day.

 Essential Equipment *

*You can purchase all of the equipment from student services if needed.

Out of Uniform Procedure

If your child arrives at the academy out of uniform the academy will follow the process below:

1. Phone call to go home to parents/ carers
2. Student taken to student services to borrow uniform
3. Students are given 24 hours to correct shoes (if none available to borrow) /nails/hair infringements.

Students must return any borrowed uniform at the end of the day.

If you have any issues regarding uniform, please call the academy to let us know in advance. Please do not send your child to school in incorrect uniform without contacting us first. We will do everything we can to help.

Purchasing NOA Uniform

The uniform items your child will need must be purchased from Cross Embroidery, Banbury. Pre-ordering is advised.

Cross Embroidery

Phone: 01295 270555

Email: sales@crossembroidery.com

Address: Unit 5+6 Lower Cherwell Street, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 5AY.

Second Hand Uniform

Second Hand Uniform can also be purchased from the academy, we run a summer shop throughout the 6 week holidays so please do come in and see us.

There is also a second hand uniform swap shop at Hanwell Field community centre which is 5 minutes from the academy.