school shoes aibu (prepared to be told I am)

[frangipan]

My son started secondary school this year, in line with the uniform policy which states ' black, preferably leather, shoes with non slip soles' I bought him these
www.amazon.co.uk/Pod-Felix-Older-Casual-School/dp/B00E4NIFBU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384879250&sr=8-3&keywords=pod+boys+shoes so far so good, uniform was checked and passed off in the first week.

They fell apart after the first half term, walking, bus ride, heavy rain etc. The soles peeled away and the facing came away. We did glue them together so they would make it to half term.

so in half term we bought some more expensive better quality shoes

www.amazon.co.uk/Vans-Black-Leather-Trainers-UK/dp/B006EIU2YG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384879462&sr=8-2&keywords=black+leather+vans

we used permanent marker and blacked out the logo flash. They are black leather shoes with non slip soles. They have told us the new pair are not acceptable and that we have a week to buy new ones and that the original one were not suitable. We argued that our DS (if I do say so myself) is always clean and smart looking and that the shoes are in accordance with uniform policy. The school still say they are not appropriate. I honestly didn't buy them for the brand and bought them on the premise that they were similar to the original pair that no one had commented on for eight weeks.DS has canvas versions for casual wear and I knew they would fit and be comfortable. Can they really force us to buy more shoes by punishing DS??? new to all this so all help much appreciated.

The school sent him into isolation this morning for uniform breach. No one contacted me.

Sorry about your MIL

The DMs will probably be fine, but if I'm honest I don't get why you can't just buy sensible school shoes from Clarks or M&S instead of trying to sneak cool branded ones in under the radar.

i dont imagine its about sneaking somethung branded in...more about getting shoes that fit and last!

op already said i think its hard to find shoes to fit.

my boys are similar really wide with a high instep, clarks dont do shoes wide enough. ditto nothing from supermarkets, m&s, next etc.hence spending a fortune at independent shoe shop.

Saucyjack i didn't try to sneak anything under a radar. I guess the written word is meaningless without the verbal variatons that help explain the point. Off to bed now.

YANBU to any rational person and I don't personally believe in school uniform at all. However, they were sold as trainers so this should have warned you you may have an issue.
It's all madness though. The uniform obsession is a complete mystery to me. I have family in Germany who have no school uniform and yet seem able to read and write and are decent members of society. To take a child out of class for a uniform violation is a disgrace.

They're sold as trainers though, and I don't get the "i wouldn't have enough money to buy new ones" thing either- maybe if you didn't spend FIFTY quid on glorified plimsolls you wouldn't need to. It is trying to sneak things under the radar, where do you draw the line?

I like uniform, it's a leveller. It means they don't wear all their gear at school and need yet more for casual. It also means there's no snobbery about designer gear.

OP has already said she didn't buy them from the link that calls them trainers and she didn't pay the full price for them.

I think they're technically what the school asked for, I would be complaining about him being removed from class for this. Does that not defeat the whole point of school?

Do kids who have parents who don't give a toss about uniform lose out on loads of education then?

Where do you draw the line though? Is it fair some kids can wear trainers and some can't?

All children should be able to wear trainers. Any brand based bullying = one days automatic suspension.

As should all bullying about any other item of uniform or another DCs appearance. Sadly uniform does not prevent shit about trouser styles, skirt length, hair or make up.

All children should be able to wear trainers. Any brand based bullying = one days automatic suspension.

As should all bullying about any other item of uniform or another DCs appearance. Sadly uniform does not prevent shit about trouser styles, skirt length, hair or make up.

Personally, thinking about it, I'd buy DS a pair of very cheep plastic shoes.

Carefully sand, cut of and paint out logos on Vans, change laces to round non trainer ones and polish to shiny.

In a fortnight no one will notice.

DD has gone back to her too short skirt because it has a pocket, no one cares.

Really? I think that's a shame. I also think its better for kids who can't afford five pairs of trainers, or the latest gear. Much more ammunition for bullying than skirt length or whatever.

Also if you send your kid to a school with uniform policy then you should adhere to the rules - otherwise this happens. The school did the correct thing given their policy.

shona the shoes adhear to the policy of black leather, non slip soled shoes. most other websites have thrm labelled as shoes, its only amazon that describe them as trainers! they are not trainers and wouldnt be suitable for running/pe etc.

The only thing you were UA was gluing the poor boys trainers together and sending him out in public wearing them, this isn't the 70's.

Sadly, I'm not sure that uniform makes as much difference to bullying as schools would like.

There us a certain kind of insecure, status seeking DC who takes one look at my quirky DD1 and sees a way of bolstering their self-esteem, place in the pecking order by being vile to her.

Absolutely any feeble reason, clothes, accent, hair colour, not liking a pop group, it doesn't matter. DD1 reckons even breathing is a crime.

Fortunately, DD1 has self confidence in bucket loads and has learnt to ignore them.

you couldn't see the glue, it was the last week before the end of term. It may not be the 70's, the relevance of which I don't see, but we are a family who don't do the 'oh it's broken, let's chuck it and buy new'. I wanted to get them to the end of term. No crime was committed and DS didn't care. Guess what......I cut up used envelopes in to note size pieces and keep them for scribbling notes, phone numbers and shopping lists on to instead of buying notepads and no harm comes to anyone. Can't believe some one would actually post that it was unreasonable to re-glue a sole.

Totally agree Starballbunny

on the upside, MIL has now been moved to really lovely hospice and she seems quite peaceful and comfortable.

I really hate this obsession with petty shitty uniform rules.

Children should wear decent supportive trainers to school, seeing as they often walk a fair way each morning and night and run around at lunchtime and break. Much more suitable than shoes.

Deary me frangipan do you have a miniature washing line for tea bags

With respect Nigella if you read up thread you will see that I found out last night that my MIL is dying and probably won't see next week, so please, please can you stop belittling my lifestyle choices. My DS may be a 'poor boy' but only because he is about to lose his grandmother. Are you a troll or just generally nasty?

I am feeling very fragile right now so I will leave you to it and step away from the thread.

my year 9 wears black converse to school. Thankfully the school choose their battles quite carefully and shoes are lower down their list of pointless shit to get anal over....