Sporting Colours
Encyclopedia
Sporting colours, more often known merely as colours or house-colours, are awarded to members of a university or school who have excelled in a sport. Colours are traditionally worn in or on scarves, ties, blazers, gowns, cuff-links, and other items of apparel. The award system gives rise to phrases such as an Oxford Blue, meaning a person who was awarded a Blue by the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

.

In some award schemes, it is possible to receive a half colour, such as a Half-Blue. Typically, a given institution will award a single colour; for example, Cambridge and Oxford awards are different shades of blue, and the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 awards a Purple.

American universities tend to award a varsity letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...

 rather than a colour.

The system is common in the majority of British independent schools
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...

 and old schools of Sri Lanka. Often blazer
Blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket. The term blazer occasionally is synonymous with boating jacket and sports jacket, two different garments. A blazer resembles a suit coat cut more casually — sometimes with flap-less patch pockets and metal buttons. A blazer's cloth is usually durable , because it is an...

s are given to denote pupils who have achieved in a sport. The blazers are often distinct from the standard school blazer though often colours simply take the form of embellished arms or braided cord or ribbon edging on the standard blazer. Ties are also used as a common way of displaying representative colours.
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