Where do you buy school uniform?

Penelope_Penguin · 14 August 2007 at 7:43AM

I've been shocked by a thread elsewhere on MSE what state secondary schools expect parents to but by way of uniform and equipment. This parent was saying that the bare minimum was £140 :eek: :eek: She needed 4 *bottoms* for PE and 4 pairs of PE footwear :eek: :eek:

I was under the impression that the Government had, in the last year, outlawed schools requiring parents to buy all the kit from the named uniform supplier, and expected everything (apart, perhaps, from some items of PE kit, and ties) to be available on the high street and in supermarkets.

Our school uniform is available at the uniform shop, but most items are also available elsewhere. I had to buy PE vest, rugby top, PE socks, technology apron and tie (about £35) from the uniform shop, but everything else was from M&S (about £35, so not the cheapest, but IME lasts best and washes well).

What's everyone else's experience?

Penny. x

dlb · 14 August 2007 at 8:01AM

My ds1 new secondary school have set uniform but dont have to buy it from school, apart from the school tie £3 and school jumper £10, but i cant see why we arnt allowed to buy a plain school jumper i have seen one identical for £5, only different is 3 letters embroided on school jumper very small may i add, but school state- school bought jumper or no jumper at all!!
So i will only be buying one school jumper and am going to buy some white t-shirts to wear under long sleeved shirts.

amanndajane · 14 August 2007 at 9:12AM

Well i`m quite lucky in as much my son is still young and attends primary school so the enforcement of blazers, polo shirts and jumpers with embellums are`nt as strict, on things like trousers, white sirts and socks etc, i have found ASDA to be by far the cheapest, yet not losing much on quality, i buy one polo shirt and 1 jumper from the national school shop(at rediculous prices i might add) for formal things like school concerts and yearly photo etc, but for everyday wear the plain items are adequate.
Perhaps you could approach the parents and teacher group and suggest a bring and buy of jumpers and ties etc that children have grown out of, not only will you pick up some bargins but trhe school will gain some well needed funds!:j

Sarahsaver · 14 August 2007 at 9:19AM

DS1 gets clothes from a friend who has a son a little older, different school, same colour shirts

Got 2 lovely fleece jumpers from freecycle. Little DS gets DS's stuff when he has outgrown it.
DD has tops from the charity shop, skirts and dresses from M&S sale the skirts were £1 each. I also have stuff from Poundstretcher where it was all on 3 for 2, and the polo shirts lasted a whole year and will got to the charity shop as they are stil decent, only one got wrecked with irremovable paint stains LOL;)
I have suggested to our governors that the school has a kind of swap shop, so say if you are on benefits you automatically get entitled to say 1 coat, 3 of each of tops, jumpers and trousers and a pair of shoes, then if not you get a 'credit' if you bring something in which is reusable.

mrs_mix · 14 August 2007 at 9:21AM

I'm lucky too dd is of to juniors in sept but they have the same uniform as infants so all she needs are shoes and trainers
ds1 has left school
ds2 is going into year 8 so his uniform is ok the only thing the school insist on are polo t-shirts with logo and sweatshirts with logo with a choice of 2 suppliers pe kit is a school colour t-shirt which cost £3.00 shorts and trousers can be bought anywhere
pam

frogga · 14 August 2007 at 9:34AM

Have checked the school prospectus again this morning and I was right , to quote

"navy blue trousers ( styles TLE and BBL ) available in two styles from the National Schoolwear Centre ~ THESE ARE THE ONLY TROUSERS WHICH THE GIRLS ARE ALLOWED TO WEAR

however for the boys it just says " dark grey boys school trousers"

"Light blue polo shirt with the school crest available only through NSWC"

It even has a footnote which says in no uncertan terms that any thing other than regulation uniform is not accepted!

I wonder if the school governors have shares in the National Schoolwear Centre!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

Like I have said in the original discussion it's OK for us as adults to make a fuss and campaign et.c , but if my 11 year old daughter just wants to fit in and be the same as everyone else I can't put her through it.

kids can be REALLY unkind and I don't think it's fair of me to make it worse my sticking my kneck out and making a fuss about it.

Although my DD is only 11 she really stands up for what she believes in. She is a commited Vegetarian and has had alot of stick for that. She is quite vocal in her beliefs but I think this is one fight she could do without!!

xx

Crazychik · 14 August 2007 at 9:36AM

Im same as DLB as my DS will be starting the same school as her DS!

Tie £3, Jumper £10 (available from the school), the rest DS is wearing short sleeve white shirts (tesco), and black trousers. (some hand me downs, some left over from Yr 6). Brand new Kicker Boots, car boot £4. Football used, hardly worn, hand me down!

Like others, money is tight. He's had some new, but what I haven't brought, Ive made do with what we've allready got!

Providing the children wear the same colour clothes, I dont see the difference in buying it from the market or Uniform shop!

People who are really struggling, try putting an ad on your local freecycle page! You never know!

rammy007 · 14 August 2007 at 9:42AM

I think the office of fair trading are looking into this and about time too,my kids senior school colour is bottle green,so boys wear bottle green blazer and black trousers,the girls wear bottle green blazers and the same colour skirt or trousers which are a total nightmare as only one shop stock them and if you have a child who is really small or really big its awful they should be allowed to wear black like the boys.

Penny_Watcher · 14 August 2007 at 9:52AM

2 years ago the only place to buy my kids primary school sweatshirts was via Trutex and only over the internet :mad:

Sharpe words were had with school who didn't appreciate that not everyone had internet access and a credit card.

It's back to normal now though.

Rachie_B · 14 August 2007 at 10:48AM

I have 2 sons ,the eldest starting secondary in sept, and the youngest starting yr 1.

we bought some things yday :

eldest : ( all school emblem / colours)

2 jumpers
coat
PE polo shirt
Black PE shorts
games socks
rugby shirt
tie

(will get grey trousers,white shirts,grey socks from tesco)

youngest : ( all school emblem)

2 polo shirts
2 sweatshirts

(will get grey trews & socks tesco and also some plain yellow polos pk 3 for £5, from matalan for when under jumper.)

all the above came to £105 with another £50 i guess to spend in Tesco ( using the blue & back to school money off coupons

)

then just shoes and bag for eldest ( his dad is buying those) and shoes for youngest ,he likes the £7 ones in tesco with footballs on :rolleyes: lol

I think its ridiculous that some schools are soooooooooo strict with uniform ,and only having 1 or 2 ( expensive !) suppliers for skirts / trousers etc !! :mad:

sharronloves2spend · 14 August 2007 at 4:33PM

I had lots of uniform to buy as i have four children, i started buying them in june then more recently M&S had 3 for 2 which worked out really well. DS1, needed blazer from specialist shop £33 and rugby top £14 and sox £4.00. His tie from last year was fine. He needed 4 Shirts from M&S 2 Jumpers, 2 trousers and shoes and Black sox (year 8) DS2 needed 2 school jumpers from school £16, 4 polos from m&s and two trousers, pe kit and shoes were fine from last year yay!!! (year 6) DS3 needed two school jumpers £16, 4 polos from m&s 2 trousers, shoes from clarks £21 in sale. His pe kit was fine but he will need a new coat when the weather gets cooler. DS3 is in year 2. DD needed everything!!!! She starts reception and needed two grey slips 4 blouses, 2 cardigans sox and tights all on 3 for 2 at m&s, shoes from clarks £18 in the sale, and all her pe kit came from matalan. She also needs a waterproof and wellies ffor outdoor activities, i havn't got those yet. They all look absoultly fab in there uniform and i find that if i get everyone new set in september it lasts through out the year( well it did last year) i also keep all my boys trousers if they are still in good condition so that if one of them has a growth spurt i usually have a pair that the older boy has not worn out. I love the suggestion about a swap shop and as i'm a parent govener i may be bringing that up!!! Trouble is the school is in well off area(defined by how many free school meals it receives!!) and there are quite a few snobs who will turn their noses up at it!! ah well there loss.........

Where do you buy school uniform?

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