When the School was established in 1855, the founders envisaged a future Eton and borrowed the bluish-green colour of the prestigious English school, which had been established by King Henry VI in 1440. In the early days of the School there was no formal uniform, although in 1875 it was proposed that “all boys shall wear round their caps the school ribbon, with a mitre as a distinguishing badge of the School, sewn onto it”. A committee began considering blazers for the 1st XI Cricket team in 1887 and ultimately all 1st teams wore light blue blazers whilst the rest of the School wore white with light blue trimmings. Today, all Senior School students wear a light blue blazer on formal occasions which is referred to as the Number 1 uniform.
On June 15, 1907, The Argus reported on a football match against Scotch College where, “the Geelong boys appeared in a most striking uniform – light blue jersey, white knickers, dark stockings and white boots”, but suggested that “until after half-time they failed to do justice to the new costume” and duly lost the game. In a Student Representative Council (SRC) poll of students in 1964, two thirds of Senior School students voted for the abolition of the school cap and consequently the cap was abolished a year or so later.