School uniform advice - please?

notenoughcash

I have two boys who are much the same as any other school age boys and always come home filthy. My 9-year-old always comes home with his trousers covered in grass stains and my 5-year-old with his school dinner down his t-shirt.

I tend to buy all unifrom from Tesco on their 3-for-2 offer and clubcard points. I get 6 polo shirts each (two 3-packs) 3 trousers each, 2 sweaters each and a 'logo' fleece each from school, plus 2 t-shirt & 2 shorts each for PE kit so there's always a spare.

I then replace shoes/pumps as and when necessary.

bestpud

DD (6) has five polos, three pairs of trousers and one cardi. She did have two cardis but lost the one and I am refusing to replace it!

Next year, she will have the same except I am going to get 5 pairs of asda £2 trousers because she tends to put the knees through and I don't want to spend loads on them!

I paid £7 for M&S ones in Feb of this year and tbh, they seem no better in quality than Tesco or Asda ones. We also have a pair from Adams and one from Mothercare and they are all much the same quality too. I don't think the quality varies that much any more, even though the price does, but perhaps that's just me?

She is a dirt magnet too! I know I will have to get her another cardi towards winter as she will be wearing them more and there is no hope of the one lasting all week!

She won't wear skirts any more but when she did, she preferrerd knee high socks to tights, as she found them easier to get on and off for PE and swimming.

Another thing to note is if your dd has wide feet, you may find Clarks is your only option for the black daps and they can be hard to find towards the end of the hols. DD is a 'G' fitting at Clarks and we just cannot get daps wide enough anywhere else.

Oh, and I would get the socks now as they tend to sell out pretty quickly too. I've spent too many days in early September hunting for school socks!!

Gingham_Ribbon

bylromarha wrote: »

Just wanted to add...delay buying plimsolls if you have a 4 year old starting school.

Check with the school the first week when they will need shoes for PE.

My class used to be barefoot in the hall Autumn/Spring term and we started needing footwear for outdoor PE around April. Obviously that meant an unworn pair of shoes for 2 terms meeting a grown pair of feet in the summer.

Had a few grumpy parents to deal with over the issue, so worth saving the money until they really need them.

Doh. I'm about 4 hours too late reading this post. :rolleyes: He's been wearing them round the house so no chance of returning them. But they did say they do PE outside sometimes so hopefully they'll be useful. They're only £4 in M&S though so a bargain!

blue_sushi_cat

My ds's have the book bags - they're a good size and easy to carry - they have a selection of keyrings attached to personalise them and make them easier to identify.

My 2 (5 and 7) have 5 polo shirts and 5 pairs of trousers each. I did buy 2 jumpers at the start of the year but they haven't worn them at all so I won't be getting any more for this year. I found the school logo'd polo shirts great although they were more expensive they don't shrink and look as good as new even after a year.

savvykaz

Hi all,

My DD is 14 now and I have always bought her school clothes from M&S - the quality is DEFINITELY better. At the moment, for a limited period, they have buy 3 items only pay for two. I have bought DD 2 packs of 3 blouses and a pair of bootleg trousers for just £23.

When she started school (a long time ago now :sad:) I bought her 2x 3 pack polo shirts, one pinafore dress, a cardigan and long socks (too young to be taking tights off for PE). They outgrow things so quickly just buy the minimum you can get by with.

demonicangel

Plimsols, I bought two pairs last year when they were selling for 99p in Shoezone, and glad I did as a lot of parents in my area have had trouble finding size 9/10/11 ones these last few months.

moneypanicker

Thank you all for your replies. I think i will stick with the hand-me-downs for now with skirts and pinafores and get 5 t-shirts - one for everyday. Not quite sure about jumpers as the school colour is maroon and there doesn't seem to be many places that sell it! Going to go shopping this weekend!

Re plimsols my daughter has really narrow feet all the ones i've looked at would swim on her anyone know of anywhere where you can can get narrow ones?

Thanks all!

Nicki

I always buy tops a size too big, as a slightly baggy top still looks OK. I buy 3 per year, which means that every year (except the first obviously) they have 6 which fit - 3 the right size but a year old, and 3 a little baggy. This means no ironing mid week.

Asda trousers and skirts always last the full school year for us too

Jollygiantswife

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

I used to teach a boy who came to school every morning totally immaculate - brilliant white shirt, neatly pressed, smart trousers, shiny shoes. Every single day that lad went home totally filthy, shirt mostly undone and often covered in no small amount of mud, shoes caked in mud on wet days, face like he's spent the day digging trenches. :rotfl:

You didn't teach my son did you??? It sounds like him!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

tanith

My daughter has been buying school uniforms for over 15yrs now and has tried just about every shop there is to buy uniform from the cheapest to the most expensive and she swears by Next . The aren't the cheapest but are reasonably priced nearly always in stock and wash and wash... they remain smart for ages and don't wear out .. she has bought boys and girls stuff..