Cost of school uniform

I can quite believe that... when I started at a comp in Lancashire about 15 years ago, the required school skirt cost 22 pounds - I remember my Mum complaining long and loud about it. And the PE uniform was just ridiculous. Who the hell needs special lacrosse socks for nearly 20 pounds a pair??

Cricket bat, armour (!), cricket trousers & shoes, new tennis racquet,, hockey stick, mouthguard, football boots, rugby studs, astro boots, new trainers .... £200? I did that in the sports shop alone - and that wasn't even the sports kit (and don't mention the uniform shop) ... god help us when the other two reach Year 5 . I probably wouldn't mind so much if he was really sporty

DCs Primary school was fairly cheap for uniform, DD state secondary also fairly reasonable. DD Private senior girls school seriously expensive (in 3 years I spent £800 on various items. Shirts were £32, skirts £35-40, blazer £80 (got one 2nd hand for £50), plus PE kit, shoes trainers etc etc., DS Prep school was slightly more expensive than primary but not as expensive as state senior school, DS public school was reasonable when DS started but now much more costly.
DS will attend state sixth form college from September & I bet the cost of clothing will probably be just as costly as paying for a uniform!

Complete "clothes uniform"...£215.00(including mouth guard )...

Smiths....£40.00

Still need to get shoes...football/rugby boots never bought them before as not sporty ds.......and school bag ...ohh and ?memory stick !.....oh and labels ...

The look on my face when he goes in on his first day ....PRICELESS..

The look on my face when he comes home on his first not having lost anything ....PRICELESS

DDs uniform and kit has come to about £250, including the calculator and French dictionary that they recommended. School branded polos, sweatshirts, PE kit including football boots, etc... it all adds up.

The only thing I've had to buy this year is 4 new school shirts (£22). We've got everything else which still fits or passed down from older brothers.

I will need to buy shoes and he wants a new school bag but there's nothing wrong with is old one so he'll buy that himself.

I hope it's our last year of school uniforms. Until now post 16 have been able to wear their own stuff but there is talk of year 12 & 13 wearing uniform as from 2013.

£500 is a lot but it soon mounts up. Even at our state comp logoed jumpers are £26 a time. Plain navy blue aren't allowed I am grateful DS didn't lose any kit last year.

But they did encourage and even 'let' us buy the sports kit very big and since that was by far the most expensive part, that was fine by me!

Well it's the school shop attached to the private school so they can do what they like. You obviously can't buy the stuff from anywhere else (I know state schools are not allowed to have this practice but some do too) and they measure your child and bring out the size they think. I wanted him to have a blazer that fit to start with and actually couldn't have bought the one bigger anyway as it looked ridiculous on the shoulders (very skinny ds)!

But equally at the state school I work in no-one seems to have blazers too big, either, again it is more common to see yr 8s/9s in blazers too small!

I've spent £250 and need school shoes, rugby boots, bag, white shirts and trousers.

School has given us a very vague equipment list so am expecting scientific calculator, language dictionary and other equipment to be required in September.

£500 here too. Sports kits running shoes, football boots, indoor trainers all bump it up.

Sounds like you've been done somehow!

£200 so far, probably another £70 max. In the queue at me ds school, when being a bit nosey, no one's bill exceeded £225, that included Rugby kit, coat trainers but not shoes.

At least ours are only £32!

Our uniform shop also encourage lots of growing room, advising us to sew up the sleeves shorter for a year or so on the blazer that is over £80 a pop.

The man in our uniform shop was positively encouraging us to buy blazers big enough for "at least 2 years use".

Poor DD only has fingertips when she wears hers.

eh?
What a customer chooses to buy, is not down to the shop to dictate. I don't understand how they could "let" or "not let" you buy whatever size you want to

Some school uniform shops won't let you do that, though, BackforGood; though I was pleased to notice that it's actually the opposite at ds's school - lots of yr 8s/9s walking around with very small blazers!

You need to buy things like blazers and sports kit with growing room though. All Yr7s walk around as if they have no hands due to growing room in the sleeves - it's the law. It would be ridiculous to buy uniform only expecting it to last a year.

That does seem a lot for state. For year 7, private school, we've just spent £350 on all the compulsory stuff (blazer, tie and 1 jumper but 4 x Sports kits being the most expensive) plus approx £50 on trousers and shirts, £33 for shoes (outlet purchase for first time!) and mega cheap branded trainers and footie boots at just £10 each (outlet store again). Oh plus £30 for a decent waterproof to wear over blazer (yes, he will wear it, he's autistic and not bothered about being cool!).

Am really hoping the Sports kit will last at least 2 years if not 3 (he won't be in any teams!) but blazer will probably only last one year!

I have spent about £100 in the official uniform shop and then about another £10 on shirts. The shoes will be about £40, so I think it will be about £150 in total...

The shocker for me though was £20 for a years use of a locker!

There was a thread about this a little while ago and I was shocked then by what it cost some people for state school uniform.

Mine was considerably less than a £100, plus shoes and bag(s) for DD. When he started DS1 was a little more expensive as boys have to have a rugby shirt which was £20.

However he is going into Y10 and it will still fit him this year which is the last compulsory year

DS going into Yr 11. Blazer £33, trousers £18, 5 shirts and a plain jumper from Primark £26, Kickers £70. Last years tie ok. Bag @ £20-25. Quite enough to be going on with.

Gosh, that is a lot. DS3's cam in at under £100, but I am v cheapskate so Asda shirts etc.

I spent £32 on dd's uniform from the school. She got new skirts etc in march and I bought them black rather than grey. Probably under £100 all in