School shoes for teenager

[Catonthetable]

Ds needs new school shoes. He would like Nike Airforce 1s and says that's what everyone at his school wears. They seem to be about £100 which is not the budget I had in mind. Anyone got any advice of how to get them cheaper or other shoes to buy? Thank you!

Maybe Nike court Borough low or court vision low?

AF1s are the thing at DD's school, and kids wearing the styles suggested would not be kindly treated 😒

I stalk Vinted and Depop for DD's - they come on every so often, but I only buy from established sellers with loads of good reviews.

Good luck!

It almost makes me miss primary school and the dressing up days. Being a teenager is both brutal and expensive.

Buy the trainers if you can afford them! You will save money in the long run. They are sturdy, durable and fairly ‘smart’. DD has 2 pairs. 1 White and 1 black. They are worn every day. Footwear sorted :-)

Wow. Does your son's school allow them to wear trainers as school shoes? All seniors local to me would send them to isolation for the day and expect them to wear shoes the next day

Id ask what the other cheaper options are. There is only a couple of months left at school this year and he will no doubt want new footwear for school again in September. Dcs school would send them straight home with those on their feet, they are trainers really. Some schools must be more relaxed.

The policy is polishable black or brown shoes with all logos the same colour as the rest of the shoe so af1s with the little silver tags removed fit the bill.

I know you’re not asking me @Flanjango, but yes, DD’s secondary school allow black trainers. They have to be completely black. It’s a big school (1800+) and most of the pupils walk. DD has a 30 minute walk and she and most of the other girls were wearing silly ballet flats and had wet feet / flappy soles and it was impacting learning negatively. Ironically, they won’t allow doc marten shoes (my choice when I was at school) because of the obvious branding but the Nike trainers seem to fly under the radar because there’s no contrasting colour.

I'm very surprised. These would never be allowed at my DC's secondary schools.

@Icantremembermyusername I know some at the school get away with it at times but any that qualify as trainers are banned completely , even my autistic dd tried to argue she needed to wear comfortable shoes as she had ingrowing toenails and they refused without a doctors letter. That despite her low attendance due to failing MH.

We're not allowed them at ours, which is much cheaper!

If you can possibly get them OP it would probably be easier for all in the long run.

If the whole school pretty much wear them I'd get them. My DD starts in sept and it's already known by all the parents that's the ones to get.
Im keeping my eyes out and looking for an offer before I order.

I don’t make the rules @Flanjango :-)
I just know my life is easier now! No arguments, no drying of ballet flats. I was on the cusp of complaining to school as so many shoes / boots were banned and she was walking to school in shitty weather and her shoes were still damp at the end of the day! Could you get footwear at added to her EHCP?
Sorry for the derailment, OP!

Sadly she wasn't able to finish school without time for ehcp to be applied for. The trainers issue was just part of her "last straw" and she never made it to GCSEs.

Op what shoe size is your child? I ask as the trainer you mention is available in children's sizes far cheaper than the adult version.

Vinted all the way.
Same around here, AF1s mostly.

Kickers or what he wants.

We’re clearly lucky as there isn’t pressure/bullying around footwear. DS won’t wear leather which limits choices anyway.

@SevenKingsMustDie

AF1s are the thing at DD's school, and kids wearing the styles suggested would not be kindly treated 😒

That's a bit sad that they ALL wear the same thing & make fun if someone has a cheaper version. There's a school near me where they all wear AF1 & even have identical bags, coats & hair. It's like nobody dares do their own thing. The school I work in has an eclectic mix & it's so much better than everyone looking identical.

@Illfollowthesun

We’re clearly lucky as there isn’t pressure/bullying around footwear. DS won’t wear leather which limits choices anyway.

Same as my kids - I don't think I could afford to spend that much. We just buy plain black pumas for about £30 & they look enough like shoes to stay out of trouble. Luckily the other kids don't seem to be that bothered about what shoes DS wears.

They are pretty much uniform for our school, allowed as they are polishable leather

They are not cheap, although better if size 6 or under, but when you consider number of wears they are good value.

They all wear Nike Air force ones I'm afraid in every school that allows trainers across the country

The great news is that they last till they grow out of them so they are actually money well spent

They're pretty indestructible, leather, waterproof and actually really well designed so good for their feet

Please buy them for him if that's what's he's asking for

Secondary school can be brutal and he'll want to blend in

No one wants to be that kid

There was a shortage of them a couple of years ago so I ended up having to buy a pair off EBay for DS

Luckily they were in great condition practically new really.

Look hard at the photos especially the soles and the stitching

The Nike borough are fine and ds wore through AF1s and has these now. I paid £50 for them