Help/Advice Needed On Costings For Secondary School??

charlie2309

hi my son starts a really good secondary school this sept and the uniform initial layout is over 2oo pound my sister in laws little un goes to private school and theirs is roughly the smae price, our school is very strict on uniform certain pe socks logo'd shorts pe t shirt normal shirt jumper rugby kit the list goes on even 35 pound for a lab coat but they will accept weekly payments if you cant afford it in one go maybe it be worth asking if yours does too. i do completly agree with strict uniform code for many reasons but think it wrong that a school especially state schools can charge so much for each item some of the prices are much higher than top branded shops!!!

Penny-Pincher!!

Thanks for the further replies!

I have contacted the school this morning and they have a school shop the first tuesday in the month which is tomorrow, but not sure if we can make it as FIL is away and have no one else to collect her. They sell all 2nd hand clothes but have to be off excellent condition, so hopefully no tat there..LOL. Maybe we can pick DD up early from school?? Would I need to take cash, or cheque or CC? Think cash would be best and I hope they are alot cheaper than normal prices. Like I said, I would be so happy even if i could get her skirts from here...a bonus if we could get a blazer.

I am unsure if we would qualify for any financial aid towards trips etc, seems a little cheeky IYKWIM asking. Ive worked out finances and will start paying £50pm from june to my ING account, which would mean Id have £350 by the end of this year. Im pretty sure I can do it.

Thanks so much.

PP
xx

Bargain_Rzl

SnowyOwl wrote:

I never had a blazer, just the school coat. I didn't have the school scarf, had to do with a hand knitted one. Lots of girls did without either the coat or the blazer.

Have a good look at current pupils and see what bits of the uniform is not especially popular. Maybe you don't need to buy every single bit of it...

This may not be practical depending on school policy. I went to a comprehensive, which wasn't too strict on what you wore (you had to have the school tie and blazer-badge, but you could buy your black or grey skirts/trousers, white shirts, black blazer etc from wherever you liked within certain guidelines i.e. skirts ). But you HAD to have a blazer. It was considered bad manners in class to take your blazer off without asking the teacher first - so at the start of each lesson, one pupil would generally ask on behalf of the whole class.

I do remember being annoyed when at the end of year 7 (which was still called 1st year back then - LOL) they decided that the girls' summer blouse (blue open-necked & short-sleeved, with no tie) was no longer part of the uniform, so I was only able to get one summer's wear out of mine - plus it was "my colour" and really flattering . I suspect this had something to do with ensuring minimal sex discrimination (i.e. if one sex has to wear a tie all year round, so should the other) because it was about the same time that they gave the girls the option of wearing trousers.

I think we had it dead easy compared with some of the selective schools in town - the local private girls' school had snot-green blazers and their summer dresses were apricot and white check - lovely

queenofthedump

my husband used to sell his free dinner ticket and save the money up. Although he did buy fags with the money- just a suggestion

muddled_midget

I think it's definitely worth checking with people already at the school just how much flexibility there is in the uniform, mine was quite strict about the uniform, but not so strict about the PE uniform. Also as someone said earlier, all textbooks are provided, for languages the most you usually need to provide is a mini dictionary. If she has a birthday between now and starting school would it be possible to get some things for it, or even for Easter presents, not necessarily uniform, but nice stationary, hockey sticks/tennis rackets, new school coat/rucksack (check with the school, mine had rules over the colours of bags and coats, and they weren't allowed logos), stuff to make a 'study space' to do her homework, as it is nice to have all these things, but on a budget it can be difficult to get them otherwise. Also I really like the plan of saving up for school trips in advance, as most are probably about £15 and the schools expect a one-off payment, but if they are over a certain amount (I think it was £50 at my school) monthly instalments were collected to help spread the cost. Can machines are about 60p, but there should always be drinking water available, and I think there are plans to remove the can machines/junk food machines from schools. It's also worth looking into if any deposits are required at the start of term for locker keys/textbooks, and any school fund that may be requested.
Well done for being so organised, and I hope this is useful
midget

Spendless

serena wrote:

why oh why do schools have to have this silly expensive uniform?!

Our town is exactly the same. Fortunately, my children's school is not quite as expensive.

.

This thread is making me think I'm determined to dress the kids as cheaply as poss whilst they're still little and save the cash for when mine get to this age. My friend has 2 sons at the local secondary school and the 3rd there in Sept. They have to order sports kit with the childs name on it. The childs full name that is cos her DS2 and DS3 have the same initials and I thought she might be able for them to pass stuff on but no it has to say Jack Bloggs and Joe Bloggs not J. Bloggs.

Penny pincher- could your daughter go to a schoolfriends tomorrow so you can get to the shop? Could you send daughter in with a drink each day rather than buying out the machine?

Savvy_Sue

That suggestion about the drinks is a good one from Spendless, mine take bottles of water in with them from home. Mind you the middle one doesn't drink anything BUT water so the fizzy doesn't appeal to him but youngest also takes a big bottle of water with him.

School trips: I've found that they often want paying well before the trip. Example, youngest is off to outdoor activity week in July and last payment was due at end of Feb. Ski trip each Feb (optional, and I've made mine pay half!), final payment due before Christmas, IIRC.

Just be grateful, there's one prep school I know of where the official uniform supplier is Harrods, and the socks are £7 per pair!

pavlovs_dog

Hey PP!

Firstly, big congrats to you all. After hearing about all the ups and downs with your health over the past few months, its lovely to hear you have something to celebrate.

Apologies in advance for a long post (i will pm you when i get the chance as well with further info that i don’t want to post here to avoid going OT).

Starting at the beginning – don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure worrying about providing the best for your daughter. My mum was in the exact same situation as you 10 years ago (blimey that makes me feel old!) and we found that things have a habit of falling into place and sorting themselves out.

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

The uniform is going to cost £400+, but apparently being on Income Support we may get a little help with this (???)

.

You do get support from the IS people, although it is a paltry sum, even for those with relatively cheap uniforms. IIRC it can only be spent in certain places, and you have to arrange a meeting in the shop with one of their representatives to place your order. If this is still the case, it may be worth your while to get as much good quality stuff from the school’s seconds shop, and save the IS sum towards making a dent in the cost of her blazer. As perhaps the most important part of the uniform, this is probably the best thing to invest in.

On the subject of uniform, if you don’t already have sew-in name tags, make sure you get some – it is surprisingly easy to loose things in school, and if they’ve cost you a small fortune it would be nice to have the peace of mind that they are likely to come back!

If they don’t insist on buying a coat with the school badge on then i would recommend trying places like primark, asda and tescos for cheap, good quality, school friendly designs. The three most important factors to consider are

1) waterproof - especially if there is a trek between home and school
2) warm (although this depends on how many layers she will be wearing)
3) carry-ability (think towards the spring when it is too wet not to wear one, but also too warm half the time!)

with the PE kit, it is wise to have a word with anyone you can about what is actually used – it is a common problem with school uniform lists that half the items on there are often never used (like my gym skirt and knickers – we all wore shorts).

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

There is a Geography trip to Switzerland next July so am considering setting aside £50 a month of stuff for her whilst at secondary...does anyone else do this? I'll welcome any advice on budgeting for secondary school.

school trips….right, well firstly, i believe i’m right in saying that they cannot legally prevent your child from taking part in a school trip because you cannot afford to pay. Whether this applies to trips abroad i don’t know, but don’t let the voluntary contribution lark push your budget beyond realms of affordability. In some schools kids are offered the choice of a trip abroad every year. If you can’t afford this, then explain to DD that she has to pick the one that appeals most and you will make sure that she goes on that one (it helps if you know others with kids in the school who can tell you the different trip options). Trips to local history sites etc, you can expect to pay in the region of £3 to £20 odd squid depending on the activities. Trips abroad…well, where do you start? The key is to be realistic – you could have taken the family away for the week for the price of what they charged for some weekend trips in my school. Another thing that’s important is to distinguish between the social trips (ie ski trips) and those that are primarily of academic interest, and decide which are most vital. Kids can be great at nagging their parents and laying allsorts of guilt trips (although your DD sounds like she has her head screwed on), whilst the fact of the matter is, not even all the kids who can afford to go get to go – places are often limited to either 1st come, 1st served (ie if they have a x capacity bus), or restricted by behaviour for example. So if there are instances where you simply cant afford a trip, don’t feel too bad – its highly unlikely that DD will be the only one not going (and if it eases your conscience you could always give her the day off – not necessarily condoned, but a common practice all the same).

Another way to fund them…its more common than you think for parents/grandparents to give money towards the trip instead of birthday/xmas pressies. One to negotiate perhaps?

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Looks like Im not going to see my DD for the next 5 years as there’s so much for her to do They recommend at least one sport after school activity, and she wants to do drama, computer club and homework club too She has also just found out that she has to do Latin from year 8 which she is not impressed with...LOL.

i was exactly the same before going, but you may find she changes her mind once the reality of it all sets in, so don’t fret too much just yet. Our school netball team was very clique-y – I wanted to play for fun, they were all about the trophies, and nothing else. I lasted a month before realising my talents were better spent elsewhere :eek: :rotfl:

as for homework club – that tends to be the name schools give to opening their library and IT facilities outside school hours, and is aimed at the pupils who aren’t/can’t keep on top of their work more than able and enthusiastic students. But she will find her own way in her own time.

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Have just gone on ebay and have found a beginners guide to french, german and latin, so hopefully will win those.

I know it’s hard for you to get out, but often even better than ebay is your local charity shop, especially if you have an Oxfam bookshop in your area. The treasures you find in these places are unbelievable. I get books i need for uni at a fraction - sometimes less than a third – of the RRP, and all the books are in excellent condition. Only thing is to steer clear of any exercise/text books which look too old. Because of the speed at which the curriculum changes, unless it is from the last 5 years or so, i wouldn’t really bother.

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

What would you advise on buying intially for her?

on a slightly different tack, but school related is stationary and the likes.

Check out your local argos for RO backpacks etc – the normal price of a simple bag is horrendous, especially if she wants a special brand/colour design. I recommend something relatively colourful (uniform policy permitting) to 1) aid identification 2) make her more visable to drivers when walking home on dark winter nights.

A sensible size – she will need to get a fair bit of kit in there. I also recommend one of those drawstring backpack thingies – these are usually a great size for getting PE kit into, and not too hard to carry in addition to main bag (nothing worse than have smelly egg sandwiches, sweaty PE kit and exercise books all in one bag :eek: :eek: )

A small but sturdy lunchbox for taking break time snacks and a decent plastic drinks bottle (don’t bother with the can machine)

As for equipment - pencil case, black and blue pens (perhaps a fountain pen depending on how neat her handwriting is), ruler, rubber, pencil, sharpener, compass, protactor, set square, colouring pencils. A pad of a4 paper for work at home is helpful, but don’t bother buying exercise books – school will provide all of these, this is also true for a homework diary/planner. Don’t buy a scientific calculator either – schools like everyone to use a specific one, and will give further details once term has started.

Stationery from tescos and asda (especially the basic value range) is fab for the money – its where i get majority of my bits for uni. And if you don’t already do so, start collecting envelopes and scrap a4 paper where one side is plain – these are fab for rough work/brainstorming, and much better than wasting good paper.

Be prepared for unforeseen expenses too. As well as her scientific calculator (normally £5-£10, but should last her through until GCSE) you could well also be asked to buy special folders for carrying art work, sketch pads, and perhaps later on food for food technology lessons etc, so put a few pound aside for this purpose). covering books is another expense, but some schools like removable covers, others like that sticky back plastic stuff. until you know which, dont spend a penny!

one more thing is that if she will have a locker, make sure she has an emergency supply of pads/tampons in there, and an emergency £ or two – just in case you could always store it in a pretty purse/ make up bag type thing so as not to cause embarrassment/ too much suspicion amongst her peers (this was a godsend, as even the most prepared ladies get caught short from time to time! )

pavlovs_dog

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Have done some digging this afternoon and have found out that we can claim a clothing grant of £62.50 from our local council. Free school dinners-she is entitled to this ATM but she had alot of problems so she has a pack up daily. Also a £450 grant for learning to play an instrument.

How do free dinners work in secondary? Do they have a set amount? Can they top it up with their own cash if needed? Also, noticed they had drink machines around the school-what are the standard prices for these roughly? I will start sticking the odd 20p's in a jar for her...is this a good idea?

In my school we were given a credit card sized card to show as we went through the tills to show that we were free school meals ( be warned – you will have to go to IS office and school once a term to get all the forms filled and stamped etc :rolleyes: ). If the total came to more than the value of the card, we paid the excess in cash.

the range of food is normally fairly decent, and unless you are the very last in (which, in her early years at least, she definitely wont be) there is usually plenty to go round. Whether it will be filling depends on her appetite. We found the best approach was to use the value of the card to buy as much hot, filling food as we could, and bulk out the meal with things brought from home :money: (cheap and OS of course – a drink, piece of HM cake, fruit etc) to help fill us up.


Don’t bother with the drinks machines. Send her with a bottle from home. It is becoming increasing common for schools to provide water coolers in addition to/instead of the old fashioned water fountains – so chances are there should be somewhere for her to get a free refill too! (i discovered one in the uni library today – i cant tell you how excited i was by this little machine!!! And its plumbed in too, so no waiting for someone to change the bottle :j *note to self, must get out more :rotfl: :rotfl: )

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

I feel like a scrounger, but ATM we have no other real choice.

You are NOT a scrounger PP. the best of us can fall on hard times, and it doesn’t help that the best schools like this tend to lie in the centre of Well-To-Do Ville with a high percentage of children from middle/upper class families from middle class areas. The fact that you are currently too ill to work does not mean your daughter deserves any less…the term in welsh is chwarae teg (fair play), and i cant think of the best way to word it in English – opportunities would be best i suppose…than her wealthy peers.

Perhaps it would set your mind at rest to book a meeting to go to the school, speak to the Head or pastoral team about your concerns, and perhaps have a chance to nose around whilst you are there? Certainly nothing wrong in building good staff-parent relationships early on in the game. You are not the first *poor* (in the loosest sense of the term) person to send their child there, and you wont be the last. Your little ‘un has more than earned her place, and don’t you let anyone tell you any different!

Js_Other_Half

Penny Pincher

If your daughter is partially sighted, is she getting DLA? If she is registered disabled, does she have a social worker or community care officer? There are many charities who can be applied to by these workers, and who might be able to help with the trips etc.
I think it'd be worth a call to your local social services information line.