Where do you buy school uniform?

marlo_2

Our school has been using the same suppliers for the last 8 years, however last year we were approached by some parents to find a cheaper alternative supplier around our area. We were recommended by parents about a local supplier. They worked with our school and parents to supply cheaper schoolwear with the same quality. So far the response has been outstanding, since then many schools have approached them, this is due to parent pressure. If you know of any cheaper suppliers around your area, you as parents can recommend to your school to list another alternative supplier. Don’t put up for overpriced suppliers just because they have a monopoly.

We used:

www.firstchoiceuniforms.co.uk

[EMAIL="sales.firstchoice@gmail.com"]sales.firstchoice@gmail.com[/EMAIL]
West Midlands Based.

Kimberley

My kids Secondary school has their own uniform but i still buy from BHS and the school has said nothing to me so far.

thriftmonster

Ds1 is starting grammar school next week and we had to buy from the school - PE kit and tracksuit @£76!!. From the school suppliers: wool blazer, 2 different rugby shirts (house and school), tie and rugby socks - another £105. Shirts and trousers have come from M&S - only ones with a waist small enough for ds1. Black rugby shorts we had. He also has to have rugby boots and 2 pairs of trainers - for indoor and out.

The school doesn't have a regular 2nd hand shop - maybe I should join the PTA for this. Hand ons can be a bit iffy as the blazers are done in house colours on gthe badge - so you have to get the right coloured badge.

Having said all this, I have been putting money away each month for a year to fund this and hopefully it will pass on to ds2. We knew that if we wanted a grammar school [place for him, then uniform would be the price we would pay.

harrysmum03_2

My second eldest is starting secondary school sept with her older sister and it's been an utter nightmare.

The only good thing is they don't need blazers!!!

this is their price list
crew nech sweater with logo £11-£13
fleece £11-£13
waterproof fleece lined with logo £15-£20
zip fleece with logo £13-£20
polo shirt with logo£6.50-£8.50
T shirt £6.00
Grey duffle coat £90 !!!
pe shirt £9.00
cycling shorts £11.50-£13.50
leotard £13.50-£17.00
swimsuit £13-£15
Leggings £9.50-£12.50
Tracksuit top £23
bottoms £20
Skirt £12

to buy one of every item is £200 thats without getting shoes trainers bags pencilcase and it's contents tights sox etc, and only having one change of shirt for the week

i think it's a complete farce and the schools make money from it.
at our local high street we used to be able to buy the sweaters from a few shops there a lot cheaper but since they changed the logo to a registered trade mark we can't. I'm fuming

the school shop is only open certain times and we missed the last day of oredering as we were on holiday and it wasn't open the next time it should have been so i've not been able to order the uniform in time for sept and the next time it's open is sat before they go back. but My daughter won't be in full uniform

sturose

Hi all, I know this is an old thread but I found it while searching for rip off school uniform stories on google.

As the new school year has just started I realised just how much it was costing me to send my three kids to school and I am not happy!

First of all one of our schools suppliers has gone out of business so we now only have 1 shop to go to, this shop is Clive Marks schoolwear, the most expensive uniform supplier in my area.

When I went to the shop to buy my kids uniform they did not have everything I needed which meant my kids had to wear clothes from last year some of which were worn or too small.

I have complained to my kids school on numerous occasions about this but they constantly fob me off with excuses about the simplicity of sole suppliers even though I know for a fact they are receiving commissions from Clive Marks for sending us there. (Very reliable inside source)

I am starting a campaign to end this rip off as it appears the OFT investigation did nothing at all to deter schools from appointing sole suppliers.

I have written a blog about this which can be read at uniformripoff.blogspot.com/, at the end of the blog I have started an online petition which I intend to send to the relevant government department if I receive enough support. I can't post as a link as I am not active enough on this forum but please visit the above blog or if someone more active could link to the site I would be grateful, the site is not for any financial gain.

Please feel free to have a read and leave comments about your experiences.

Stuart.

oompahloompah

I have 3 DSs. Their school (secondary, Scotland) has a uniform, as follows:
white shirt/blouse
black trousers/skirt
proper black shoes (i.e. not trainers)
school tie (available from uniform shop or school, £6)
black or navy jumper/cardigan
white t-shirt for PE
black shorts for PE
trainers (non black soled) for PE
rugby top (£25 via school) for boys/netball skirt for girls (not sure of price)
football/rugby boots (not sure if there are specific shoes for girls)
blazer with school colours and badge (£30)

if the pupils are involved in a sports team there is a compulsory school sports sweatshirt, £25 each (DS3 plays 2 sports, was told he needed 2 sweatshirts, despite them being identical apart from the colour of the school name on the back - you can imagine my response...)

we also need to supply stationery/equipment as follows:
pens, pencils, ruler, rubbers, sharpeners and so on
calculator (bought via the school, £10)
A4 binders
£30 per term for home economics cooking ingredients (S1 and 2 only, unless it is a subject choice)
£120/year for musical instrument tuition (again S1 and S2 only), plus purchase the music books and instruments (this obviously doesn't apply to every child)
once they hit S4 they need the past exam papers; used to be an option for studying but now they use them in class to work from, but need to buy their own copies (average £10/subject - 8 subjects in S4, 5 in S5 and S6)

I can see it coming very soon that they will need to provide their own text books too.
This is a state school, btw. It is a very good school, and I don't grudge the money generally, but sometimes we just don't have enough to pay for everything they ask for all three at once! An example is the uniform, until June this year the blazer was optional, but the pupils got a letter home in the middle of June saying the blazer was being made compulsory starting from the new term in August! So suddenly we had an extra £90 to find on top of all the other bits that had been budgeted for - it would have been nice if they had phased it in a bit, maybe given them til Christmas or something, I'm sure I'm not the only parent with more than one to buy for!

Gingham_Ribbon

M&S or Asda:

4 shirts
3 trousers
1 shorts
1 T shirt
1 pair of decent shoes
1 pair of PE pumps
2 jumpers

Total: £80

blitz

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

They moan about the fact that i bought them both rugby shirts that rub thier knees when they run LOL . The only good thing is that they can continue in thier old pe kit till they grow out of it. So i won't be feeding them any more. ha ha

Rofl, i did this too, this is my lads 3rd yr & its still baggy on him, next yr it should fit him lovely, he`ll probably be moaning the yr after its too tight lol PE kit is £36 to buy new, it will be handed down to my youngest hopefully lol.Got to say it is good quality, colours are still nice & bright & looks like new.:)

from tesco

black blazer £10
2 pairs of trousers black £9
pk 3 shirts £6.75
shoes £15 from local shoes shop

not had to buy school jumpers, bought them a little big(not as big as pe kit lol),so still fit from last yr, theyre £14.50 each,though next size up is £17.50. Still got his tie & school badge that is unpicked from old blazer & sewn on new.

youngest

2 pairs of grey trousers £9
pk 3 polo shirts £3.75
2 school jumpers £14
shoes £10
swimming trunks £3.50
pe kit still fits, though when i do need to buy its just an ordinary black shorts,white tshirt & black pumps.
cant remember how much i paid in total, tesco was 3 for 2 & got 20% off & cant be bothered to work it out now lol

Anything that still looks as good as new from my eldest, ive put away for my youngest.

MrsE_2

frogga wrote: »

Sharon you've hit the nail on the head ~ the school is very middle class and most others can afford it no problem. I wish I could get all of their stuff from Matalan et al but it is not allowed. Worked out the cost of essential PE kit alone and it comes to £95. Brilliant :eek: !

You think all these are bad.

My DD is 23, when she started her first school (& it was state) the uniform had to be purchased from Peter Jones - Sloan Square:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

MrsE_2

Janepig wrote: »

I've said it before and I'll say it again, as much as I agree with the use of school uniform, this expensive nonsense of only being allowed to buy from the school has got to stop. I mean Luxor, how can two sweatshirts and two polo shirts cost over £60 even with a badge? There's afew places locally that do embroidered polo/sweatshirts/fleeces for all the different schools and it's about £7 for a polo shirt and £10 for a sweatshirt. Mil bought a fleece jacket for DD last year with the school logo on it and I think she paid about £14.

I bought two black cardigans and two white (plain) polo shirts from Woolies yesterday for the grand sum of £6 (3 for 2 offer). And as good a reputation as M&S have, the hem came down on the school trousers I bought DD last year after not much wear.

The thing is, schools that impose this sort of uniform policy are really selecting pupils from more affluent homes by the back door and it's really not on. I'd be furious if I was told the only black trousers I could get for DD were from the school - I mean school trousers are school trousers, the same everywhere and I'd seriously object to paying the sort of prices schools are charging.

Anyway, my other annoying problem with buying uniform is that as I'm trying to buy black things (skirt/trousers/pinafore) all the shops seem to have grey/navy. Do people who have to buy grey or navy find that all the shops they go in only stock black???? Or is it just me??:rolleyes:

Jxx

Schools should sell ties & sew on badges.

Uniform should be regular colours/items available from M&S & the rest.