When are you buying new school uniform for September ?

My dcs wear blazers which cost about £25 and I sew the school badge on myself. The blazers get a real beating over the school year and I don't worry about sizing up as they are falling apart by the end of the year. I would size up on things like rugby shirts/games skirts/track suits as they get worn a lot less, even if they do get mucky. Name everything!

I've started buying a few bits and pieces already. DD needed some school uniform type things for a show she did with Guides so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get them big enough to (hopefully) still fit in September.

Yes I am annoyed as I was persuaded to buy a blazer in a bigger size for my ds2 who started secondary school last September to find that due to the horrible nature of the fabric that it is already looking tired and old and still too big for him. Although it is an expensive piece of kit I will rebuy for September in a size that fits now and be prepared to replace annually.

Some of the boys showing us around on the open evening looked awful, bobbly, ill fitting, faded blazers that the parents had obviously brought one in yr7 to wear right the way through.

I buy shirts all year round as needed and trousers too. pe kit is ok if a little too big as they only wear it a few times a week, but something that is worn day in day out I would buy the size that fits. eg white shirts despite best efforts do eventually lose brightness, or pockets mysteriously 'fall' off or get ink stains etc so need replacing each year at least. Ds2's trousers never seem to fit, they are either too tight or too short, he seems to grow out and then up.

I brought all of the logo'd kit at the uniform buying day last year where we had an appointment to be fitted for the blazer etc. and anything generic such as shirts I ordered during the school holidays from m&s or John Lewis, both appeared to have stock all the way through the holidays.

"Kids really do wear stuff out at secondary- or it looks well worn"

All the more reason NOT to buy big - the clothes will wear out before they grow into them. And they will have been uncomfortable for no reason.

Prices vary of course, but I don't think £23 for a blazer (M&S offer) day in day out for 3 terms is bad on a cost per wear basis.

"It's cruel to buy big clothes" LOL. ...

Honestly they are all in big stuff in year 7.

Most schools don't have the luxury of a plentiful second hand market. Kids really do wear stuff out at secondary- or it looks well worn- equally a source of the teasing you are trying to avoid.

Not to mention the regular upgrading and tweaking of uniform that means, even with sensible schools that allow a year or more run of old uniform, that the year 7s still must have the new regulation stuff ( DD2 couldn't use DD1s shirts as they'd started putting a silly logo on the collar as kids were buying the wrong ones!).

Our school is really pretty good. New uniform only applies to new pupils and replacement uniform so if DD2 had managed to keep her skirt from year8 she could still wear it into year 11. Unfortunately she's very fed up as half way through year 10 the zip has bust and she's been forced into a pleated skirt with waistband logo. Again kids lets face it, if you didn't roll the straight skirts to belt length the change wouldn't have been needed !

I think in Yr 7 and 8 it isn't a great sin to buy a blazer which is big enough to last them a while - few of us are made of money, and DD1's school only went to blazers 2 years ago so there is not a lot of second hand stock. She's worn hers for 2 years, it is now just about OK until the end of term and then she will have a bigger one.

DD2 will also have a new one, she is smaller and slimmer than DD1 at the same age, but will use DD1's old one as an in between. I'm hoping DD1's blazer will last her through GCSEs after which she can go to 6th form and get out of blasted uniform at bloody last.

Oh and don't buy too big! Secondary kids are so concious of their looks, they are becoming teenagers and it's cruel to send them in ill fitting clothes. That's why I get 2nd hand that fits well and there's no turning up of waistbands and it doesn't cost a fortune to replace. Plus, you are recycling and doing the environment a favour. And your purse.

First: They grow over summer. Second: try on the uniforms - the sizing is generally enormous! Third: Only get the bare essentials ahead of September - and wait for your school's second hand sale which is generally at the beginning of term (ask the school secretary if and when they hold a sale) - you save so much money! And buy plenty of gear then - we went through six lost sweatshirts in the first term!

I started getting things in around mid June, good job as well. My daughter's blazer had to be ordered in as they'd sold out of her size (smallest size). Told me it would take a month to come, ended up being two months. After phoning a couple of times to chase, it came in but I was starting to panic in case it didn't turn up!

She's now in Year 8 and we tend to go in immediately after school. There's normally a bit of a queue around 4pm but nothing horrendous. My friend reckons if you're outside before opening on a Saturday you'll be the only one, so if you want to avoid waiting ..!

ChippyMinton - I think the reason for buying bigger is that many children grow quite quickly around Year 7/8, so many want to buy something that will last the year. My daughter for one used to grow approx. 5cm a year but in Years 7 and 8 it's been 8cm each year.

Am I alone is buying stuff that almost fits? I can't bear to see my DC swamped by their clothing, especially Yr7s - why make them look ridiculous and feel uncomfortable on top of everything else they have to deal with?

Disclaimer: they seem to grow gradually rather than in spurts. If that weren't the case I might be buying bigger.

Sooner rather than later I say. Last July my uniform shop had queues out the door. They had to close the doors in the end and send people away. I will be getting mine in the next few weeks.

I'e already ordered the PE kit - larger sizes for DD1 and a new set for DD2 who starts secondary in September. Am about to order the blazers, again larger for DD1 and new for DD2 who is still too small for DD1's current blazer (but may not be come August).

Trousers, shirts etc will come when M&S do their annual schoolwear thing, though DD1 doesn't need shirts - DD2's old ones fit her and have only been worn a couple of terms due to her growing. DD2 needs slim fit school trousers, only Next will fit, DD1 is OK - she's in 15-16 school trousers because she needs the length (she's 13 and 5'8'') but will need a new batch of long sleeved shirts for autumn/winter.

Oh, and school shoes for both.

My kids are younger than your DS but I buy early when the shop I go to has offers on.

Navy v-neck jumpers are like gold dust and are impossible to get in August around here! I usually get something they can grow into without it being ridiculously huge and hope for the best.

Buy early and buy big! All the year 7s will be swamped by uniform. That is normal. Agree with 2yrs growing room, though for relatively taller girls you might find that size fits for ever! I don't think Dd2 grew much at all from year 7 (and DD1s PE kit did her 5yrs and will do her sister 5yr too! Even DS only had 2 sets of rugby kit from year 7-11!)
Don't leave it to the holidays, even the start of the holidays, the queues in the shop, and the long order times.... ugh!

I have a DS (12) starting High School in September, I will get him all kitted out in July from Next and the uniform shop. I will assume that his growth spurt will be the same as DS1's and start at 14.

Early rather than late for things with a logo - if I told you how long the queue for the local uniform shop gets you wouldn't believe me. I don't believe it and I've seen it myself. I'll review the shirt/trouser situation after they've gone back in September, the shops will be quieter then and there's less guesswork in the leg length.

Its absolutely bloody stupid. We should all be able to buy school uniform mid August onwards. That would be the most sensible time really because shock horror .......kids grow!

Sadly our consumerist society means that you have to guess whether your child will grow or not about 3months before that because they need to get the Halloween shite on the shelves at the end of August along with the Xmas puds.

I also need to wait until the appeal is over so I know which school ds is going to ( quite possibly back to the drawing board )
Won't be getting shoes until the last minute regardless as ds(age 11) has now crept up to a man's size 10:)

My children tend to have two growth spurts each year: one in mid-September and the other at the beginning of July. I think they do it just to annoy me.

Logo stuff from school at the parents / induction day.
Generic stuff when M&S run their 3-4-2 promotion, usually in June. Stuff can be returned or exchanged in August if they grow.

In answer to the title ...when I know which school he is going to (on second appeal).

IME, school uniform shops in the last weeks of the Summer Holidays are hell on earth - I REALLY would not go near them then. Plus, if there's anything you can't get, you've got no time to source from elsewhere.

When all of my dcs have started their secondary schools, they've had a Parents Meeting on the evening of the day when all pupils go up for a 'taster day', and, at that meeting, the school uniform suppliers bring their stock in to the hall from where you can get everything you need.

Beware of bundles which seem like a bargain - you'll end up with stuff you don't need or can source cheaper from Asda/Tesco / M&S or elsewhere.

You buy all Yr7 uniform with lots of growing room anyway it's the law so you don't need to worry about them outgrowing it aim for them to outgrow it in Yr9, it's OK for Yr7s to look swamped by their uniform, so there's no reason why not to buy it in June/July. M&S do tend to do some quite good deals on school uniform trousers etc in June/July - keep a lookout.