Cost of school uniform

do you need to buy/hire a laptop?
specialist pe shoes (ours need 3 pairs of specific trainers)?
school trip(s) planned?
money in advance for school lunches?
money for public transport?
money for clubs?

the first outlay is quite a shock!

Second hand. The school will have loads of it and you often see it advertised on local Fb sites.
Good quality uniform lasts forever. I passed stuff down between my 4 kids and it still looked great.

Our uniform is blazer which to be fair acts like a hand bag.. plain black jumper, year tie, white shirt and black trousers or skirt. PE kit is just a school tshirt and then black shorts and socks.
Pe T-shirt optional if child not on sports teams. Otherwise white of black OK.
Branded goods total is £60

Private or state ?

@Needmorelego I only had one blazer. It was £45 in 1988 and my mum really struggled to buy it. Fortunately it only had to last 4 years because 5th years didn't have to wear one as it was the last year and not worth spending £45. DS is at the same school now and they still have the same policy on blazers. They are now £35 ish too. The quality is worse though, I still have my old one for comparison.

If anyone is at a secondary school called St J....who is a boys school but admits girls for sixth form I have uniform. PM me your school and if it matches then you can have it.

Our school polled parents on whether they wanted a standard school-branded bag or not and they were overwhelmingly in favour - it saves so much hassle not having to choose suitable bags individually, update them when kids change their mind about the style, or watch them fall apart because they're not sturdy enough for every-day use.

At first our school was like the op's with a book bag and a pe bag, but now there is the option of a larger bag that can hold both. Many parents seem to prefer this, but I prefer the smaller bag - that's because my son never gets round to re-packing it each day so always carries more than he needs - it is heavy enough as it is without sizing up.

@shockeditellyou the thing is - I would rather spend £300 on clothes that actually fit my child and she's comfortable in.
Unfortunately with school uniform - that often doesn't happen.

@shockeditellyou

Exactly. And what is worse the kids have to carry those books every day to school..their bagpacks weight is terrible

I think that £200 for that lot is not bad. Add in another £60 for shirts and trousers from M&S and given that you'd get 18 months out of that lot, 5 days a week (assuming they don't lose stuff), that's quite good. Throw in some second hand items and it's even cheaper.

You'll have to buy them clothes anyway, and I don't see many people spending less than £300 a year buying their kids clothes if they weren't wearing uniform.

Don't forget that you might not buy uniform in some EU countries, but you'll pay for books in Ireland and a whopping great stationary list in France to name just a few things.

It was definitely a lot more expensive than I’d bargained for! Branded PE kit, branded sweaters, no blazers thank God! Shirts/trousers/skirts all ok from M&S or Tesco. Laptop. Subs for teams etc.

To put it into perspective, my brothers blazer was £35 in 1987. Clothes have got very cheap. Buy on jumper and no tank top. See if there's second hand kit for sale and check local charity shops/facebook. Finally buy larger than needed, and check to see if rugby shirt really is needed

The first new uniform shop is a hit on the purse!

My son will be going into year 8 soon and over the last year ive been buying in drips and drabs, everytime i have some spare cash ill pass the uniform shop and buy a polo or a jumper in the next size up.. same amount £ wise but feels less hurtful 😭 i also found the perfect black chinos (school is really relaxed) from Next and got 3 pairs in the next size up and the size after that. Slow and steady when buying if possible.. works better for me.

Is that the cost for a non-elitist school @Pinkpoodle44 eg not grammar or fee paying?
I wouldn't bother buying lots of items on that list unless actually needed eg I bought my DC a jumper and they have never worn it because it is mandatory to wear the blazer but they say it is too hot in school for a jumper as well, so if cold in winter they wear a vest underneath their shirt and as for pe stuff just get one of the tops and shorts I get my DC to wear thermals underneath it in winter. I don't want to waste money on needless uniform when likelihood is they will grow out of it before the years end with very little wear.

Ha my kids' old school the blazers were £65 when they started and £85 at the end!
And everything, including games socks, were school branded.

That's crazy OP. My ds is at independent school and our branded items are:

1 sweater - £20
1 tie - £10
1 Blazer £100
1 pe polo shirt £15
pe shorts £15
pe socks £10
1 x rugby shirt £20
1 x PE hoody £20
pe running leggings £20
=£230

But ds is 5'10", year 11 and the blazer is heavy wool flannel that would probably withstand a nuclear strike.

In September I will sell most of it via the school 2nd hand page, and recoup £75

Will your dc wear multiple sweaters? Mine refuses to wear one at all unless there is snow on the ground.

Ok, I understand now. Bullying has many reasons. At least there is less related to clothes.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything my daughter's blazer was £50.
The hoodies she wears are around £8 on average from Primark.
At least a hoodie keeps her warm and (unless it's a total downpour) dry.
A blazer doesn't do that.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything "that shit" as in bullying.

There is always an option of buying secons had uniforms that don't cost more than the non uniform clothes that kids wouls need to wear. If a parent can afford only one uniform for 6 years then surely he will afford only one non uniform jacket that cost around the same if it is brand new.

I am very sorry but I have a right to my opinion as anybody. I am in favour of the uniforms as I don't have remote idealised perspective on schools without uniforms. That could work in primary school but in secondary not at all.

unfortunately you still get that shit with uniforms.
I beg your pardon?

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything unfortunately you still get that shit with uniforms.
Some kids only get ONE blazer for 5 years of secondary because that's all their parents can afford.
It will look ridiculous in Year 7 because it's far to big, and ridiculous in Year 11 because it barely fits. Hardly a way to make a person feel confident and comfortable.
We (society) need to teach children to not bully each other and to respect others.

you could say that about anything that costs money though.
absolutely* *

If you haven't got the money you can't have it.
If you have the ability to say "no" you can't have it either
So many parents do and their kids are ostricised, suffer and resent " that stupid clothes you were buying to me that everybody laughed about" even when they are adults. That's life.

And that is precisely I am in favour of uniforms.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything you could say that about anything that costs money though.
If you haven't got the money you can't have it.
If you have the ability to say "no" you can't have it either.
That's life.

@Needmorelego

Your idea is noble but you are against job position of millions of people working in the fashion industry who position carefully their brands to make it appealing to people.