School Uniform !

anonymousie

mrcow wrote: »

They're not required.

Buying two is a waste of money.

Do what every other money-conscious parent does and buy one in a size bigger than you need to get some growing room and don't replace it until it's either falling apart or it starts looking like her wrist have had an argument with her sleeves.

Even my rapidly sprouting DS is 18months in an age 13 blazer (bought at age 11!0 before it started to go to holes at the shoulders (rucksack) and not do up:rotfl:This was a really nice, dureable but cheap M+S blazer with a badge sewn on.

Buy lots of polo shirts (cheapies or expensive if you have too) at least 3- teens are sweaty so andsos, so you have to have 1 to wear 1 to was and 1 drying, and change most days!

Buy PE kits as huge as you can without it actually falling down!

DD1 (15) had to have a certain style/make of school shirt at the start of her 2nd year (boo hiss change of uniform policy!). SAid shirts were ...gulp....£11 each. :eek:

BUT bought 3, a bit large at age 12 and she has worn them every school day from then till she will finish her GCSEs this summer. THose shirts don't owe me a penny! (they are a bit thin though!).

PE kit too, bought huge has lasted age 11 to 16.

DS wears out uniform, and does outgrow shirts still, mind you is PE kit has lasted 2 yrs and most of it might do a 3rd year even though he has grown a lot.

Honestly all the yr7s are kitted out in huge clothes at the start of term!

School uniform, even expensive stuff, is pretty cheap in terms of pence per wearing as it is worm all the time!

Next year for 6th form DD will not do so well really as regards cheap clothes. THey have a "non uniform" policy of "buisiness wear" :rotfl:Which really means they want them in a suit- or at minimum dark trousers/skirt and same colour jacket/cardy- tops of own choice but plain and modest. So we have had to trawl M+S for black trousers/skirts/cardys and the 2 for £8 plain bright t-shirts. OK we could have gone to primark, but to get stuff to fit that remit and last is hard! she wants black because navy and grey have been "school uniform colours".

Oh for uniform to continue at £11 a blouse, £20 for a skirt and under £20 a logo'd sweatshirt/sweater!

tessie_bear

hi...id buy the bare minimum and be prepared to wash stuff mid week....if the school has a fete prior to your daughter starting it might be worth going for a look...they sometimes sell second hand stuff....u should talk to the school again because i thought they werent allowed to have a cartel anymore...good luck

Blackpool_Saver

Claim your grant and buy one blazer, you haven't mentioned shoes, trousers or shirts yet either....

bubblegumcola

I try to buy everything for my kids in the sales for school uniform. While many of the kids wear logo polo shirts etc I am like some of the others on here and feel the quality is very poor for such things, polo shirts are the worst. In past years I have bought one logo polo shirt each which is only worn for school photos and trips out which is in itself a complete waste but they don't last. I'd rather buy decent quality stuff from the likes of M&S in the sales or their outlet stores than pay full price. I usually always buy bigger sizes for Winter coats to get two years out of them, has worked fine so far. I got my kids winter coats this year from the M&S sale online big cosy parkas for 7 quid each, alot better than 35 quid each! I shop at Clarks factory for good school shoes, sometimes a hit or a miss but always worth a look.

My youngest starts school next year but I have a sweatshirt and a school jacket kept from when my eldest dd was at the Primary which is what be wearing when he goes! Trousers already bought from Adams in their sale ages ago and were really cheap, I just hope he doesn't grow loads or I'll have to pass them onto one of his pals!!

More schools should have second hand sales for the items which would have a bigger initial outlay such as blazers and sweatshirts, the school wouldn't even have to run them. If you have a good PTA they could do it to raise funds for the school. Sometimes you see adverts in the local papers. Its good you have a contact at your local charity shop, they may come up trumps for you.

It is hard to when money is tight.

If I were you I would buy a logo badge for the school and sew it on a cheap blazer if your DD is growing alot. I wouldn't be buying two, buy a bigger size.

Interesting about the police fund, worth a nose to see if you are eligible.

flea72

by a weird coincidence this months Prima Magazine has a 'tip' with details of a site that specialises in selling 2-hand items, school uniform being one

https://www.primaryschoolstrader.com or https://www.schoolstrader.com

having had a quick look it seems to be aimed at independent schools, but they should be opening a site for secondary schools, sometime in June

hth Flea

mumps

poet123 wrote: »

Harsh, but true. Uniform is there to instil a sense of belonging, community and pride in the school. Any parent should be pleased that the school their child atttends upholds these standards....it is a measure of their committment to improving overall standards. School uniform is a valuable tool, when parents are supportive.

That is great but school uniform can be a complete rip off, my sons school sweatshirt cost £36 and the colour faded within the first term. My two eldest sons went to a great school with a good uniform, you had to buy a blazer badge and tie from the school and then buy a black blazer, I think i got one from BHS and sew the badge on, a grey v neck jumper, I got these from BHS too and grey trousers, these from M & S as I think they can't be beaten for quality any other trousers always got holes in the knees. The pe kit had to be bought from the school, parents weren't involved, except we paid. They were fitted out by pe dept and believe me everyones pe kit lasted three years, my sons would never have accepted the huge rugby shirts if I had been there but when pe teacher said that was what they were having they accepted it. My youngest two went (one still goes) to another school. It is a very similar school, similar results, the uniform isn't as smart in my opinion and you have to buy sweatshirt and polos from school, girls have to have a particular blouse with three quarter sleeves and open neck and rounded bottom to hang over skirt and they cost three time the amount of standard school blouses. I don't think the girls all wearing standard school blouses would really damage the school. I was always in a position to buy uniform but I still object to the rip off. As to planning ahead, when I had my first son I was a teenage mom (yes I know) and one of the first things I did was take out a ten year endowment policy so I knew that when he went to grammar school (and he did) I wouldn't have to worry about buying his uniform. I had money to spare. :T

mealone

My son is still wearing the school shirts we bought over 2 years ago and they are still white. His sweatshirts dont fade like his classmates.

Wash all your clothes in cold water and take them straight out of the washer and all your colours will stay bright.

You dont need a special gel, I use Daz powder and washing in cold water is the biggest money saver ever.

I do use nappisan for undies, bedding and towels for hygine.

bubblegumcola

Good for you 'mumps' planning ahead to ensure your eldest would look smart for grammar school, I wish I had thought about that for mine.

Oldernotwiser

mumps wrote: »

That is great but school uniform can be a complete rip off, my sons school sweatshirt cost £36 and the colour faded within the first term. :T

Presumably you have the normal consumer protection if you buy items through the school - if they're not fit for purpose return them!

poet123

Exactly. This happened with a supplier of our school sweatshirts, they were of poor quality and faded after only a few washes. Parents complained and got refunds, and the supplier changed their supplier, knowing full well that if they didnt no new business would cometheir way. Parent power can be very effective if harnessed properly.