to think £18 steep for school jumper

[whatkatydidathome]

dd starts middle school in Sept. The uniform is burgandy so easily available from most shops but they insist on particular jumpers with a logo. These are only available from a small local menswear store (with very un child friendly staff). We also have to buy 2 rugby shirts with our childs name printed on them (as well as logo) so second hand not an option - these are £12 each - plus huge assortment of logo-ed track suits etc. Comes to about £400 - and will need to be rebought each year. I complined to council who said that it was nothign to do with them and that it was assumed that parents accepted the uniform cost when they accepted the place. This is not true as we are rural so this is the only school our children can attend. They also said that it was assumed that parents who coul dnot afford the uniform would make different choices about schooling .

YANBU Its steep but frankly you got of easilly

the 2ndary school my dd1 and niece attends insists on skirts that can only be bought at certain outlets school jumpers that can only be bought there too (yes £18 a go) PE skirt (only at outlet) PE shirt with logo (only at outlet - though can be got 2nd hand if you can get to the school on Wednesday afternoons at 2 45 - err no I have children in primary school 30 mins drive away that has to be collected by 3)

PE trainers has to be completely white (not even a logo stripe is allowed) hard to find in sports or shoe shops so back to the outlet and Navy tights complex to get a hold in too

We spend over £200 to kit out dd1 for her 2ndary school uniform then 3 months later had to do it all over again for dn when she moved in with us.

YANBU

DN starts primary school in sept and she can wear skirts/blouses etc from anywhere (as long as school colours) but their jumpers/cardigans have to be school ones complete with logo at £20 quid a go! She's 5 fgs!

dd is 9 and we have 3 children so it will be £1200 a year when they all go. I do not understand how they can do this when they have a captive market.

YANBU I would refuse to buy logo'd for primary age children

my school was like this. my mother gave up eventually and got us cardies from cheaper shops.

My DC's all go to schools where basically the "special" outlet shop is the only option.

My personal favourite

"Dear Mrs BottyBurp

The honours committee of the school are delighted to inform you that we have decided to award DS1ofBottyburps Senior School Honours.

Please take this letter to MrRipOffSchoolUniformSuppliers who will be pleased to supply you with the requisite items of uniform"

These were

Tie £18
Steel Gray Slacks £45
Blazer £165
Embroidery of sport he won honours for on pocket of said Blazer £30

Oh and the blazer had to be updated the following year to say that year too which cost another £15

And because he was a prefect he had to get a different tie for upper sixth as well.

And that is before shirts, socks, PE kit, kit for said sport that he won honours for which is extortionately expensive itself.

Oh and the "voluntary" contribution which was now due as well lol

AARRGGHH

PS The blazer is special because it is honours and there is only one shop that supplies it.

Can you find out the company that does the logo embroidery? DS needs to wear pure cotton and his school jumpers were partly polyester, so they told me the name of the supplier and I bought cotton jumpers (in Asda) and sent them to the embroidery company. I didn't do it to save money, but it did work out cheaper.

I used to turn a blind eye if kids showed up in anything vaguely school coloured in my classes.

My old school uniforms were burgundy (hate the colour to this day) and then in secondary we had a blazer with a different coloured trim meaning you could only buy it from a couple of places in town. Hated it again.

Brother by contrast got away with black jumper, black blazer, black trousers... so unfair!

To this day my mum bears a grudge that her school got rid of their special coloured braid around blazers for 6th formers the year she entered 6th form.

YANBU but I wish mine was only that much. Mine are £35.

ANd if I see that Tesco Bundle for £12 advert on TV once more I will throw something at it.

Full uniform for DD2 moving up to new senior school was £489 last week and DS needed just a few extra bits that he had grown out of: £211.

Crippling me!!

I have a friend who runs a business embrordering jumpers - she has offered to put the logo onto any jumper for £2 but the school are refusing to allow her the pattern. Another fried has a dd who must wear cotten - they are still "in dispute". I've looked at the children coming out and they do all seem to have the "correct" uniform so we do not want dd left out but it seems so unfair - we have no other option but to attend this school.

You should complain to the governors and ask them to explain why they are disregarding the Local Government Association's guidelines

People have tried this, and the loca council have had many complaints.

Second hand uniform sale?

yasonbu, jesus! is school unifrom, design to make all kids look alike, not a business for profit, seriously £400 is a looooot for 1 year uniform. complain, to the school, the council, the mp, the bbc...anyone who would listen, and get other mums and dads to complain with you... this need to be fixed.

Feeling your pain. I have three at three different schools (not by choice), so no passing anything down here either.

I thought I might at least get away with handing down footie boots, but Child 1 needs metal studs and Child 2 uses astroturf and needs squishy studs, apparently.

I can't match Bottyburp's 'don't aim for Honours, kids' tale, though!

they have got around the second hand thing by insisting that the childs name is printed large on the outside so everyone can see it. The MP IS one of the governors who voted this new uniform in a couple of years ago. Previously it was just burgandy so you coul dbuy it anywhere but the school was way over subscribed with many people bringing their children in from less affluent out of catchment areas - lots of appeals etc loads of fuss so this uniform was brought in. The local council said that it was assumed that "parents who coul dnot afford the uniform would not choose the school" which I thought was horrific

if you are in a rural area, taking them to other school would be difficult, what they suggest you do?, maybe the opposition would listen? have you got other parents' support?, start a petition for change of uniform or a cap in price, take as far as you will, enroll the local celebrity...

Wasn't this sort fo tithing the point of comp education?

In 1955 Dad passed his 11+ but due to the uniformc oasts and being 15 / 16 very poor kids, he couldn;t go to Grammar

You'd think things would move on wouldn't you?

whatkaty that quote might be local press worthy you know

and yes opposition party

The council did not suggest anything - they just said that it was nothing to do with them. Not sure about the other parents - most seem rather apathetic - they complain but once I've suggested actually doing anythign they back off. It is pretty snobby around here - i suspect that anyone complaining would be talked about as being "poor and not worth knowing" - from the wrong side of the playground :( etc and no one wants to be ostracised as there is similarly no alternative social life wise as it is rural. There are the towns out of catchment (about 10 miles away) bu tit is very difficult to break into socail groups and so everyone sticks with the mums they met at toddlers/in the playground and these are dominated by the 4x4 snobby set.

Are people talking about comps on this thread tho? I assumed some were talking about private

My secondary school had a similar attitude: that if you can't afford the uniform, you should not have applied.

The jumpers, as I recall, were £30 or so (in the late 1980s!) and were guaranteed to fall apart within a year, thus ensuring that my parents had to buy new ones for all four of us each September. My mother had to patch my brothers' elbows by spring term too.

We were so skint at the time that our uniform was pretty much the only new outfit we'd have all year.

I didn't realise that such piss-taking still went on. Have you considered nicking the logo off the school website and getting the embroidery done that way? It's certainly what I would do (accomplished fraudster emoticon).

I am in Northern Ireland, so not a comp, but my sons passed the 11plus and that was the local, closest grammar school.

The school is run by a board of governors but used to be a private school years and years ago but isn't now.

The way it works is that they are awarded a place at that school by the education board, so I assume that is the same as the rest of the UK??

The thing that got me about the Blazer letter was that it came across as this great thing, that juniorbottyburpthefirst had got this great honour (which was richly deserved and he worked very hard for) but it was going to cost an absolute fortune.