How much did it cost to kit out your Yr7 for state secondary?

[YogaDrone]

DS is year 6 and moving to secondary in September. We are very lucky that we were offered our first choice (and closest) school.

I'm doing a quick add up of how much it's going to cost and it's coming in at almost £1000 I'm not complaining - I knew it would be expensive - but with uniform plus PE kit coming in at £300, plus shoes, football & rugby boots, winter coat, compulsory iPad (£400), locker fee, iPad apps, text books, set reading texts plus Rumsfeldian known unknowns it's all adding up quickly. I'm very glad DS can cycle to school and doesn't need a £300 a term bus pass.

AIBU to ask how much it cost to get your child all of the kit and caboodle they needed to start year 7?

And, do you think this is a reasonable amount to spend for a state school?

[Zinnia]

Compulsory iPad???? this is a state school, yes? What happens to the kids who can't afford that? Not done it myself yet but was thinking it would just be the uniform I'd have to shell out for.

[RedSkyLastNight]

No, that’s bonkers – are you in a very affluent area (or is this selection by back door)?

I thought the DC’s PE kit was expensive at £65 (that’s picking all the most expensive options, you could get it cheaper).
Blazer, shirts and trousers/skirt are bog standard ones from any retailer you choose. We went with M&S and came in under £100. If you went supermarket, it would be cheaper.
Tie is £6.
Shoes and trainers are whatever you want to spend.
If they don’t play football/rugby outside of PE lessons they didn’t need football boots (my DC not keen on team sports; we didn’t bother).

Locker deposit was £10
Equipment deposit was £10
School stationary pack (as cheap as anywhere else) £15
Art materials (again as cheap as anywhere else) £10

I can’t believe a state school can make an iPad compulsory! (do they provide them free for pupil premium children?)

That's what ... around £200 not counting footwear?

[vickibee]

About £200.00, an ipad is a bit much :(
The blazer was £45.00 which is a rip off as it is poor quality and only had a badge on, a black plain one is a tenner in ASDA. Invested in a decent pair of shoes
The PE kit is an Adidas branded one with school logo so that was expensive as well

[windmill26]

Definitely not reasonable for a state school. We had to buy Blazer,PE polo shirts (short and long sleeves) and tie from the school .I think the total was around £60. The rest of the uniform I bought from M&S and football boots and PE trainers from Decathlon.No charge for apps or text books.

[marytuda]

That is a lot, and no I don't think it's reasonable. I can understand state schools, with pressure they are under, having to ask parents to contribute to curriculum essentials like text books. But compulsory Ipads, specialised sports shoes? WTF??! Is this a super-leafy area?? (What's the school's Pupil Premium intake percentage?)
I thought £350 ish for us last year was pretty steep but our most expensive single items were winter coat (£35) blazer (similar) and decent quality shoes (£40). Bus travel here for kids is free.

[OohMrDarcy]

About £250 I think

Blazer
Shirts
Skirts
tie
Tights
Shoes
PE polo shirt
PE Shorts
Trainers
Rugby top
Football boots
gumshield
Long socks for rugby / football
PE bag
School bag
Stationary
Maths supplies (compas / calculator etc)
Locker deposit
fee for access to show my homework app

It felt never ending at the time, but has all been well used and she is in the rugby club

[greenelephantscarf]

about 300£
would have been more, but the school found a sponsor who provided laptop computers for each child. would have been an additional 350£

[iloveredwine]

At our school the ipads are paid monthly so £20 per month. that includes the apps and insurance. You can provide your own but then would have to pay for the apps and insurance on top anyway.

Don't get the rugby and football boots as they don't play them at the same time. My son has never used the rugby top and socks as just wear pe kit unless in the team.

[greenelephantscarf]

oh, forgot the 200£ for the pgl a week after starting.

[Hollowvictory]

Ive budgeted £400 per child for uniform, sports gear, stationary, school bag. No iPad required what a gimmick.

[Hersetta427]

DD started in September and her Uniform was

Blazer £55
Skirts x 2 @ £29.50 each
Shirts x 4 @ £32 for a pack of 2
PE Skort £23
PE Polo shirt £20
PE Hoody £32
PE leggings £20
Swimsuit £14
PE trainers £25
School shoes £40
PE socks £7
House colour PE socks £7

So a total of £375 plus there were small extras like the compulsory black ankle socks

All uniform is logo ed and PE kit has to be embroidered with their initials (although that is included in the price) all is only available through one provider. The shorts are the only item that is not logo-ed however they are much an odd colour they are only available through the uniform supplier - £32 for a pack of two was daylight robbery.

[pippistrelle]

About £400. This included football boots that, very irritatingly, were worn for about four PE classes.

No iPad though. That's ridiculous.

[CMOTDibbler]

Pe kit, blazer, tie were less than £100 in total. Rest of the uniform was M&S, so £70 for shirts/trousers (long legs, so need the XL which only M&S do, cheaper elsewhere). No football boots required, and I don't buy anything non compulsory like hoody, fleece etc
Most expensive thing was his shoes as he's a size 10 and wide foot, so full on mens shoes

[presentcontinuous]

Where is this school that insists on an iPad?!

And what happens when it gets lost or damaged in the first fortnight, as would inevitably happen with a lot of 11 year olds?

[Zinnia]

Just worked out it will be £200 pretty much bang on for DD starting in Sept this year for uniform + PE kit. Mostly school supplier, some M&S basics. Slightly less for boys as they can wear any black trousers whereas girls have to wear school logo ones (trousers or skirt).

Transport will be on top of this, does that count? Not been told about sundry addtional costs yet but no doubt this will come. Hope not an ipad though!

[Oliversmumsarmy]

State school for Ds was just short of £400
(No compulsory iPad)

Everything had to be bought new as they didn’t have a secondhand uniform sale.

Dd ft private school which did a lot of dance etc so all different dance shoes, leotards and dance/sports wear as well as the different school uniforms £97.

Second hand uniform sale, some items that they recommended you could get from Tesco/Primark

Whole approach to the uniform was completely different.

[TVandToast]

About £600 but that included spare pe kits, and £100 on shoes. No iPad although had one already. He does most homework on his pc, never needed iPad.

Blazers and PE kits have lasted a couple of years.

[PiratePenguin]

My daughter's school requires her to have a device of some sort for year 7. Friends who had children starting next year have said the Year 7 start cost them around £600 (without the device but including a Year 7 bonding trip). It's the PE kit that costs the most and all has to be branded. They can only have a black coat to wear to and from school but this is not allowed to have any logos on it at all. They are very strict.

[Hellohah]

When DS started they did a uniform pack, which included Blazer, Jumper, Tie and PE kit for £75 (shorts, t-shirt and socks). £15 extra for Rugby top. Then I just did shoes, PE trainers, trousers, shirts, rucksack and stationery - so all in all it was less than £250.

I didn't include the coat in the costs, as he already had one - and never bloody wears it anyway!

[AveEldon]

I spent £300 on uniform excluding shoes

No charges for books and no requirement for an ipad
Bus is free

[YogaDrone]

To those who asked - yes it's a state school and we knew about the iPad before applying. It's an academy which is part of a small MAT all of which are "Apple schools". The Head made it very clear during his address to parents at the open evenings prior to application that an iPad was compulsory.

There doesn't seem to be a rental scheme (although I really hope there is for those children on pupil premium at least).

I'm planning to get DS's engraved with his name and postcode and I'm going to get it insured separately (I haven't costed this yet though).

It's quite a new school so I'm no sure there is much in the way of second hand uniform yet. I guess we'll be told more about this in due course.

They need a full football kit and a full rugby kit (boys and girls) plus a standard PE kit. The only uniform items which aren't school specific are trousers and socks; even the shirts have the school emblem so have to be purchased from the uniform shop.

It is broadly an affluent area (Berkshire) but a substantial percentage will be PP.

Based on your replies I think our school is expensive compared to others.

[cloudymelonade]

Pretty sure a state school cannot make an iPad compulsory, that's bonkers.

[IVEgottheDECAF]

£1k is insane!

Looked on school supplier and our logo stuff inc pe kit would be around £100. Then shoes shirts trainers bags etc.

However our school are offering a voucher for a free uniform to all year 7 starters just not sure what it will include yet!

[YogaDrone]

This is my biggest fear presentcontinuous. I've bought a targus hard case/shock proof cover for it already (I got it half price so snapped it up) but I can't imagine a load of 11 year olds treating their stuff all that well!

I like the idea of a uniform pack Hellohah and I agree about coats never being worn!

I do hope that they have provision for the less well off because despite all of the "don't chose this school if you don't like our approach" that parents get fed at the open evenings there really isn't a choice at all. We put down our four choices but this school was the only one we realistically stood of chance of getting into because all the schools in our borough are over subscribed.

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Year 7 bonding trip

Dds private school had a meet and greet in the park, bring your own picnic.