Needing new school shoes for 1 week

Spendless

15 year olds school shoes have worn out, the toe part has come away from the sole. He is currently on work experience where he can wear his trainers, so it'd not a problem at the minute, but he's due back into school for the final week next week.

His school has a strict dress code, shoes need to be black, so he can't wear his trainers which are blue (they don't mind what colour trainers for PE/Games). When he was at Primary school and I needed school shoes for the last weeks, I could buy black trainers that looked very much like a shoe, but I can't find similar in mens ranges. He is size 10. He has wide feet and is flat footed, so cheaper footwear from supermarkets have never been an option for us as they don't fit.

Has anyone any ideas, other than me biting the bullet, paying for school shoes and hoping they still fit in September?

KRB2725

I would phone the headteacher and see if they could allow him to wear trainers for the few days of term that are left.

Jagraf

I doubt his feet will grow before September. If it was year 11 I would say glue them, but alternatively buy them a bit on the generous side. My DD had her blazer from year 6-11 lol. It was getting short in the arms

Person_one

Hmm, a bit of superglue or something just to stop the rain getting in and hold them in one piece for a week? Is that do-able or are the shoes too uncomfortable/un-wearable?

I'm assuming the school won't be flexible on it at all even though its the lat week?

building_with_lego

I had a similar situation this morning, rang the head and the class teacher to *inform* them that my son's school shoes had worn out but due to the fact that I can't buy him anything new until the weekend that until the end of term that he will be wearing the most suitable black shoes that he owns, which will be trainers. "I'm sure you understand that I won't be buying him anything new at this point in the year..."

They agreed that at this stage it is unrealistic/ unreasonable to expect new shoes.

lilmiss1982

I would certainly try the superglue suggested. You can get it in the £1 shop. I'm sure it would hold up for 1 week.

Also trying posting an add on freegal, gumtree or similar site asking for a pair. Many year 11's have finished so there might be people with old pairs kicking around they are willing to give away

mandragora_2

Ring the school and explain. If buying them at this point, and then potentially having to get him an additional pair in year 11 is likely to cause you hardship, tell them that, and in those terms.

PasturesNew

We used to glue soles back ... until a hole appeared, then you put some cardboard inside for some more weeks.

Lunar_Eclipse

Firstly I'd try to glue them. You could also talk to the school, though personally I wouldn't, I'd try to buy new shoes if they won't last.

It's unlikely that his feet will grow during the 6 week Summer break, so it wouldn't be new shoes for a week, but just new shoes. M&S do a lovely pair for £25, though they have man made uppers which I'm personally not keen on, but they're smart and cheap and would do the job. Having said all of this, what are the chances of you actually finding a pair of shoes this weekend that fit? Takes us weeks to buy a pair of school shoes due to very slim feet!

Lunar_Eclipse

Or could you borrow a pair from someone: loads of men seem to have size 10 feet and would have a spare pair of work shoes.

Spendless

Thanks for the responses so far. I don't know if the school will be reasonable, 2 weeks ago they sent out a text message that said;

'There are 3 weeks until the end of the academic year, please ensure you continue to send your child into school in the full correct uniform'

I take it from that, that people at that point were saying their kids clothing/footwear had worn out.

My friend once had her son's HoY phone her to want to know why she had sent her child to school in his trainers, that weren't black, despite her sending a note in. My friend doesn't drive and had arrived home from work long after the shops had closed.

I have thought about DS wearing DH's shoes for the week, but he only has 1 suitable pair too and will need them for work.

I can't remember the age when I stopped going up shoe sizes. DS has been size 10 for a while, but has still grown taller. That's what makes me wonder if he still has another shoe size to go up.

I'm pretty sure when I looked at the shoes they didn't seem to be able to be glued back together but I will double check.

Yes, I'll be able to find another pair of shoes, this weekend for him. For years we've been limited to buying from Brantano or Clarks due to the wide/flat feet, but I pay between £65-80 for them. It's an expense I could do without, someone caused damage to my car this weekend, drove off without leaving details and I have an unexpected repair bill of over £100.