Where is the best place to buy school uniform?

eml_3

Asda/Tesco for me. We have to have sweatshirts/cardigans from the school but everything we can get from supermarkets. Grab them while they are on offer.

I have found I have needed 3 sweatshirts/cardigans as DD (aged 5) usually comes home with paint/dinner/God knows what all down the front of them each day. Polo shirts are much easier than blouses, and we have had 1 pinafore, 1 pair trousers and 2 skirts. That has kept us going all year, along with a summer dress.

The easier the clothes, the better. It also helps when you are rushing in the morning! You can always tell when Reception have had PE by the number of bizarrely dressed children coming out school with things on back to front and inside out etc.!!

Make sure EVERYTHING is named. I have found iron on name tags don't stay on that well so have used an indelible marker or sew-on name tapes.

Make sure you have lots of tissues for their first day. They seem so grown up and then suddenly look so tiny in their school uniforms. The thought still makes me well up even now!

Edinburghlass_2

Personally I would say blouses are a no, no any day! I bought a couple of short sleeved ones for my daughter starting school, wore them the first day and wouldn't look at them after that, polo shirts are so much more comfortable to wear. Also much easier in the washing and ironing department.

Remember on PE days they have to do as much as they can themselves and believe me 30 odd 4/5 year olds trying to get in and out of things like pinafore dresses are a nightmare. They pull it off so its inside out then try to get it back on when its still inside out then can't reach the buttons on the shoulders etc. :rotfl:Can you tell I used to help in the school

Spendless

telly-addict. Do you have younger boys as well? If you do and they can wear polo shirts when their time comes to go to school. You could always pass them on to them.

My sons polo shirts are still in good condition as they've spent most of this year underneath a sweatshirt. When I buy the next size up ready for this September I'll put his old ones away for his little sister.

hilstep2000

Matalans, Asda or Tesco! My son is at a secondary school which is shirt & tie. Some of his uniform we have to buy in the school shop (house colours, embroidered logos) but I buy his trousers, shirts and blazers in the above. Matalan do packs of two shirts/blouses for as little as £4. I always buy short sleeved too, that way cuffs don't get covered in ink of paint. He's got a blazer on, so he doesn't get cold. I recently bought him trousers in Woolworths, they do school clothes up to age 16 now, and they had an offer on, £9.99 each, or 2 for £12! I bought him two new pairs for September, in a bigger size.

telly-addict

Thanks everyone. I think I will pass on the blouses as she hasn't had much practice of buttons (or laces!) yet and I could do without that stress in the mornings. The one or two buttons on a polo shirt will be a good start.;)

So when will this stuff be in the shops? I do know that 'back to school' usually appears before they have even broken up, but is it in some shops all year round?

Poppy9

When my daughter could wear Polo shirts in the infants I bought a pack of 4 age 5 and they lasted her until the end of year 2. I bought them in M&S and in year 2 one of the mums asked me how come your polos stay so while and nice looking - she was shocked when I confessed they were 3 year old. I was lucky in that the age 5 were a generous fit but they are hidden under sweatshirts for most of the time. I passed onto a friend with 4 children and her kids are still wearing them. They seem to be indistructable:D . I buy summer dress only from M&S as the quality is so good. In the summer I was and hang on a coat hanger on the line and they do not need ironing. I have tried Tesco but they washed like rags. Keep and eye out as M&S reduce their summer dress at the end of June usually. I pick up next year sizes for as little as £3 . The little A line dress can be worn a little big one year so they will still fit the next year. As dresses are only worn for a few weeks this is better value. I then pass them onto to friends who get plenty more wear out of them and they still look fab.

I don't like M&S skirts as I think they are a bit short. Their trousers are fab quality though and don't knee or crease like cheaper brands. Debenhams do lovely quality skirts and pinafores but agree that pinafores are a pain to get on and off.

Juniors have to wear blue blouses. Again I am an M&S fan - buy packs of two when on offer for £6.50. Again take a lot of washing and tumbling. I buy 2 short and two long sleeve per year.

Shoes - I always bought clarks or startrite. They shoes are usually lighter and more comfy all day. An easy way of teaching laces to younger children is bunny ears. You make two loops (bunny years) and just tie them. I taught my daughter this before starting school she was able to fully dress and undress herself. Make sure the coat is easy to put on and take off as they have to do this a few times a day - so no fussy toggles etc! Also go for a darkish colour or one of the Next rubbery type coats as they are easier to keep clean as they spend a lot of time on the floor being walked over:eek:

Finally make sure she is competent at using the school bathroom. Tell her what do to if no loo paper there etc. you would be surprised at the number of times kids sit for ages crying on the toilet because they need some tissue. If they have a pocket on their uniform give them a little packet of hankies for emergencies and of course runny noses!

VickyA_2

When I was at primary school, a few years ago now, my friend's mum would spot all the "leavers", look at the size on their jumpers/blazers etc (with child still wearing them) and offer their parents the money for the end of term. She got loads of stuff at dirt cheap prices as the parents were always willing to sell them as they'd never thought what would happen next to them! My mum, however, never had the guts to do that so just bought us things "full price" in charity shops etc.

Spendless

VickyA wrote:

When I was at primary school, a few years ago now, my friend's mum would spot all the "leavers", look at the size on their jumpers/blazers etc (with child still wearing them) and offer their parents the money for the end of term.

LOL-Vicky I did a similar thing last year.At the time sons school was the only one with an attached nursery so not every child stopped on at the same school. I offered to buy the school sweatshirts off a mum of 3 whose 2 older children were already at a different school,as she would have no more use of the jumpers. She gave them to me free :-)

Smiley_Mum

I got two of each item of clothing, polo shirts (no logo) although you can buy them from the Schoolwear store in town, they were £2.00 each from Adams. I got two pairs of school trousers from Adams, £6.99, and £3.50 buy one get one half price. Two sweatshirts with school logo (most expensive part of uniform £9 each from local Schoolwear store). Two white teeshirts from Woolworths in sale £2.50. A pair of plimsolls x 2 from woolworths £4, Two pairs of tracksuit bottoms from Tescos £2 each. One schoolbag £8 from local shoe store, one gym bag free with an offer in Woolworths. Shoes from local shoe store. My son seems to keep his uniform reasonably clean so I do a wash midway through the week.

I wash everything on 40 and tumble dry on a low heat. Everything seems to be fine on that, although the labels on Adams and Woolworths stuff do say not to tumble dry.

I also buy larger sizes of things when I see them in the sales. When my son first started school I bought his clothing in May time, I DID NOT want to be one of those parents who were scrabbling around at the last minute trying to find school clothing etc for the start of term. This year I won't need to be going around the stores for clothing as it is all bought already. So I don't need to worry.

Swattie

If you don't mind buying early Adams currently has a buy one get one half price offer on school stuff. If you collect Nectar points, keep an eye out for Adams offer of one Nectar voucher buys £5 (face value £2.50).

Woolies currently has offers on all their Ladybird school range with loads at half price.

Debenhams also has offers on - but you've just missed the 25% off everything.

Also good to plan ahead and buy the next sizes up at the end of the sales when prices plummet. School clothes aren't really prone to fashion trends (under 11 at least) so you can safely buy forward if you find real bargains.

If you need advice on shirts vs polo shirts. I've always sent my daughter in with poly-cotton shirts as Polo shirts always end up looking grey and the collars go floppy. Plain white shirts seem to look better for longer. But Polo-shirts or white T-shirts for PE.

You may find that items of clothes etc do get lost - especially on PE days - so name everything and buy cheap and cheerful (but reasonable quality).


As far as shoes are concerned, that's the one thing I didn't mind paying to have the best. I would recommend Clarks, Start-rite etc. School shoes are worn every day for 6 months at a time or more (if you buy good quality) and it really is important to have a confortable shoes that fit really well and have room for growth, especially if you walk to school and back.
But again you can make full use of the sales and Clarks factory shops.