Must have year 7 brands/items

[NeonLover]

My son has a birthday coming up and starts in year 7 in a mixed London comprehensive school in September.

he hasn’t had the best primary school experience and I want to get him some presents for his birthday that he can wear/use in September to get him off to the best possible start.

So what brands/items are must-have in state schools currently as I have no idea?!

I realise this may have no influence on his school enjoyment but I will feel better for having tried 😁

Do you mean pencil cases and rucksacks? Or shoes and clothes?

all of them as is a non uniform school

I'm not sure if it varies by area, but round my way (Essex) anything adidas/nike/hype/puma/superdry/North face is fine. I must admit to keeping an eye on what the local teachers are wearing as my ds has autism and struggles socially so like to make sure he blends in with the right stuff! When I was young, if it was sold in JD Sports it was ok to wear! 🤣

• obviously teenagers, not teachers! That would be embarrassing!

Thanks that’s helpful. Maybe I need to hang outside the school and make notes!

any suggestions for popular bags?

If it's not the cheapest brand at JD Sports then you'll probably be safe so Adidas, Northface, Nike...

Muted colours like black and khaki are more popular here.

Ds uses a black Nike rucksack with small logo on and his previous bag was an Adidas one with white stripes. Some boys do like big logos but my son prefers small ones.

Well, mine is 15 now but very into his brands so I'd recommend ...

A black rucksack. Nike is probably the best choice without the logo splashed all over it

Nike sportswear. Adidas, the north face, Champion all fine too.

For shoes, has to be the Air Force 1s

If you're going to get Air Force ones the minute they crease you need to replace. He will be crucified for creased air forces and be told there "leaning". I'd personally go for black kickers, Nike air max 97s in black or Black Nike Huaraches. But defo Nike and North Face.

But why would you want him to fit in with the type of crowd who find sports brand fashion desirable? At secondary you have a much more diverse pool of people to befriend, and if you send him in head to toe in JD Sports clothes, you are pigeonholing him and he might be overlooked by the more individual/academic/alternative/arty/music types he'd fit in with more? Let him choose his own style. That will give him confidence, and confidence is key.

Give him cash, let him choose himself.

I was about to say what @user375242 said. let him choose the brand / bag etc that he actually likes (unless it has Peppa Pig on it maybe)!! I will have had issues with my DD this year (Y6) in that the "cool kids" have started to assert what is and is not acceptable and I have had to really encourage her to say an internal "fuck you" and go with what she likes. I'm trying to teach her it takes a bit of front and courage but is ultimately MUCH cooler to go your own way.

You can get crease protectors for your air forces nowadays 😁 DS won't put his on unless he has them in!

Agree, Nike is probably your safest bet. North face for jackets

I thought all Schools had uniforms now 🤔

Is this not the case then , and I get so confused with the new year system.

so is this junior school ie aged 7 to 11.

I would not recommend second guessing what he likes, take him and let him choose. Are you sure there's no uniform? I thought all state schools now had it, DD's school didn't and changed 4 years ago, we were told that all schools were changing

There are a couple of schools in Camden which don't have a uniform.

@catandcoffee yr 7 is age 11. It's not really a new system, been in place twenty odd years now.

Who actually cares if they're creased? Shouldn't we be railing against this utter nonsense?

DS1 is ND and has quite a quirky dress sense - he like a bit of bright Scandi.
He'd never wear it to school, which is sad, but I understand.
his school wear a fairly casual uniform.

Lots of Nike, adidas, north face, Nicce. As a pp said, if you can get it in JD Sports he'll be fine.

Coats, trainers, bags and other things get stolen or abandoned on the field for a game of football and forgotten. Or left in a classroom, especially when they're not used to going from class to class across a large site - and they never seem to remember where they've been, that there is lost property or that they need to go and look for the things, rather than rely upon Mum sending an angry email to the Office, who certainly won't be going to search for anything.

And there will always be somebody better off than him who will take the piss (or just take the stuff) out of him for having a particular brand or something not being box perfect or being a walking advert for 'My Mum bought me everything'.

It's stuff like this that makes me understand why uniform became compulsory in almost all schools.

Thanks lots of good advice. He doesn’t really have his own sense of style yet but will definitely encourage him to choose himself

i think north London must be the anomaly as quite a few schools still have no uniform!

@Fritilleries You could do but kids can be cruel and they won't care for any adult making a stand against it .