To think Teenage boy school shoes aren’t fit for purpose?

School rules can be a pain in the arse. My son’s school specified, must be black, no trainers, must be leather, no boots. Yet surprisingly permitted Air Force One - leather but what I’d class as a trainer, these seemed to be the go too for most of the boys at the school but by lord they aren’t cheap.

Dms. Ds is nearly 16. 5,10 and size 8 feet, so not massive really. He's fairly slim, but batters his shoes. Kickers lasted 4 months. And he doesn't play football, just walks to and from school. Dms have been amazing for him.

It's school trousers that have pissed me off. You pay VAT on 30 waist, because they're adult sizes.

And girl shoes. They're worse. Although that's partly because dd insists on wearing loafers, which wear out ridiculously quickly. She won't wear dm ones.

Dear shops, some school kids walk a lot. Make your shoes fit for purpose.

My 11 year old is already in size 6, and has a predicted growth rate of a size 14 shoe by the time he is 14.
As a chiropodist I don’t believe in children wearing none supportive shoes, so it’s always Hush Puppies or Geox. As for trainers for PE, I encourage my sons to take the in every day and change their shoes before going out to play. They are only allowed sketchers trainers, as other brands of shoe are just not good enough.
I have also been known to give the school a proper tongue lashing over their restrictive shoe policy, and forcibly changed our primary schools policy of no trainers, to appropriately coloured, supportive trainers. Which is better for growing feet anyway.
But then I am a little bit obsessed with shoes!!

Ours are allowed black trainers. I'm not aware it creates any bullying issues and the kids have practical footwear. School uniforms really need to relax a bit and change with the times. How many people go to work in shirt, tie and jacket these days?

I generally agree with you. DS has massive feet and I've been buying the below for the last few years. Comfy and pretty durable for playing football at break

https://www.next.co.uk/style/su071678/415831#415831

I used to get my sons school shoes from deichmamm.... they used to last for ages and looked smart. There are some sites on line that do mens shoes.

Last year for Y11 school shirts (impossible to find in stock in the usual places) we found Matalan had a ‘Ready for College’ range of plain shirts and trousers in adult sizes, I think from memory they were around £10 each for short sleeves. More expensive than a multi pack of school shirts, but better than ‘dress’ shirts.

Glad you have found Start Rite. They do hardy boys' school shoes up to a 12.

If it makes you feel better, it's even worse when it's your daughter who has the size 9 feet in KS3. This is the last year she'll be able to wear 'girls' school shoes if she keeps growing - Start Rite girls' go up to a 43. From next year she'll have to wear boys' shoes or something from a specialist retailer costing £££.

When I was at school loads of boys just carried trainers in their backpack to play footie at lunch. I don't see why this isn't an option.

The focus of school shoes for teens is not for them to hone their football skills, its for them to be tidy/presentable and relatively consistent in style so that you don't get hideous competing for who can have the most expensive Nikes.

Hard agree. It drives me bananas.

My teenage DS has size 9 feet.

He has worn the Puma Smash V2 leather pumps that look very shoe like.

His school has a strict no trainers policy but after 3 years he has never been challenged on them.

Definitely not an anomaly my young high school son is a size 12 in shoes. We get his school shoes from Sports Direct, in our one they have a dedicated section to school shoes and usually go up to an adult size 13, although it can be slim pickings as you need larger ones but they still give a school shoe vibe.

He also has super wide feet and Sports Direct usually fit perfectly.

Marks and Spencer mens shoes are pretty good, likewise Geox - try also John Lewis online

My 15 year old has size 11 feet and has worn sturdy men's work boots to school for the past few years. They wear trousers so nobody can see they're boots instead of shoes.

Can he not have doc martins?

Yeah my DS had docs or army boots.

adult male dress shoes do not stand up to the sort of use teen boys give them.

I agree although we have got lucky this year in the M&S mens department with some wide fit cushioned sole shoes in the correct size and a sensible shape. He doesn't want pointy toes or slip ons.

He's got man-size feet, so go for men's shoes rather than shops that cater primarily for schoolkids. You can get some Grifter work shoes/boots from various sites (incl Amazon) for £30 to £40, and they'll last a lot longer 👍 A good investment, if his feet have stopped growing.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/5-pack-regular-fit-short-sleeve-shirts/p/clp60493981?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

M&s 5 pack mens sizes £60 the long sleeve are slightly more but not much

Isn't this what kickers are for? DS has geox , they go up to a 10 and are pretty hard wearing

Totally agree! I wish school would just let them wear more of a trainer style. They should be encouraging them to be active in their break times!

I completely agree. My 12 year old has size 10 feet, wider than average. We cannot find anything decent for playing sport in at break and lunch. There are no lockers, and so he doesn’t want to carry a change of shoes. We have had Hush Puppies, but they were wrecked a few weeks before the end of term. Boots, docs etc are not allowed. All black trainers would be so much better. Any bullying, act on it.

I am also ranting about white shirts. He is in adult sizes, so instead of paying supermarket prices for a pack of 5, the cheapest I can find are £40. It costs him more to go to school because he is tall.

What’s a grown up shoe?