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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think £200.00 on a school uniform is shocking

180 replies

Racheyg · 14/08/2017 17:37

DC1 starts school in September he has just turned 4.
the only uniform that can be purchased from the non school uniform shop is shirt and trousers. He even has to wear a tie.

The rest even pe kit is branded with their logo. Its all come in at nearly £200.00. I only ordered 1 pe kit fingers crossed he doesn't lose them :)
Im guessing its only going to get more expensive. as next year he needs to wear a blazer. I think I will be wrestling him to get him dressed every morning :)

OP posts:
Yorkshirebetty · 15/08/2017 09:43

What state school is asking parents to provide books and stationery?

GhostsToMonsoon · 15/08/2017 09:46

I think my children's state school uniform is expensive, but not quite as bad. Something like:

3x branded jumper @£12 = £36
Shoes - £40
Ties 3x @ £4 - £12
PE Kit - £18
PE trainers - around £12
Polo shirts/shirts are cheap, around £2 each
Plus summer dresses for DD, and grey and white socks

So up to £250 for two children per year, but some things do last them more than one year or can be handed down (e.g. PE kits).
However, I am not sure how the school can describe this as 'economical'! I have to buy them home shoes and clothes anyway for the weekends and holidays. DD was in school nursery last year so always got changed at lunchtime, and I prefer them to get changed after school as they are prone to getting their uniform dirty otherwise.

There is a state school nearby that has become an academy, and has decided the girls can't have supermarket pinafores, but have to have expensive school-specific ones instead. Our nearest private school has blazers from Reception!

SenatorBunghole · 15/08/2017 09:48

Be careful what you wish for. I have a 6, 4 and 18 month old. Elder two are in school here in the US. There is no school uniform. It costs a fortune. They need a snow coat, snow pants, rain jacket, rain boots, snow boots and back pack that is 'kid approved'. Then we have 5 outfits which I label Monday-Friday and are name taped with out last name followed by the first name of my three kids.

Right but there is a middle ground. It's perfectly possible to have a practical and affordable school uniform. Lots of schools have just that. The fact that some parents in different systems have to spend more isn't a justification for unnecessary batshittery.

And unnecessary it is. People need to start complaining to Ofsted when schools pull this kind of nonsense. I've recently moved mine from a school that was changing the uniform to something equally stupid, expensive and hard to source to a school with something more reasonable. Wasn't the reason for doing it, but boy am I glad. If I were still there, I'd be throwing everything at it.

Farahilda · 15/08/2017 09:49

"What state school is asking parents to provide books and stationery?"

Those in Ireland

Also: www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/a-quarter-of-state-schools-ask-parents-to-buy-their-children-textbooks-9254900.html

noeffingidea · 15/08/2017 10:26

Having to buy 'snow coats', 'snow pants', 'rain boots' etc etc in the US is irrelevant in the UK.People just wear the same winter coat whatever the weather, and in any case children should already have one for outside school. My kids just wore the same coat for school and outside school.
Nor do you need 5 seperate outfits for school.I went to a non uniform primary school (many years ago) and we just wore ... clothes. The same clothes we wore at the weekend and during school holidays.

treaclesoda · 15/08/2017 12:25

My kids primary school (N Ireland) has had to ask parents to send in stationery because the school can no longer afford it.

minionsrule · 15/08/2017 12:33

I'm gobsmacked at £200 without a blazer.... is the uniform gold plated?
Ds in secondary and they have branded blazer, tie, polo shirt and rugby shirt for PE but thats it. Everything else is Tesco bought. Tbf though ds's tiny blazer in reception year cost more than his year 7 blazer cos it was a unique shade of purple Hmm

tccat · 15/08/2017 12:54

I'm in Scotland and have just spent a fortune on secondary schools uniform, it's the only secondary school here and only one place you can buy the uniforms from, totally pisses me off, £12 for one polo shirt, £15 per jumper , and older ones have to wear shirt and tie, black shirt which again had to be purchased from local supplier who appears to be making a pretty penny out of it
I'm lucky enough to be cable to afford it but many people may be living hand to mouth despite working and not have spare money
it's an absolute disgrace for state school to have people over a barrel like this

GreenTulips · 15/08/2017 12:57

Nobody believes the £5 uniform the supertmarkets offer then?

I think a lot of school think uniform is cheap - without costing it up

Local school here in a poor neighbourhood have polo shirts in a particular colour - they are £9 each!!

Sad when Adsa do themfor £1 in white - parents complain but no action taken

MrsHathaway · 15/08/2017 13:14

The cheap offer is only cheap if you wash a lot: false economy.

That said, Aldi PE tops and shorts mean my DC have two PE kits each for under a fiver each.

No argument with quality either: DC2 is growing out of Nutmeg kit DC1 wore heavily first, and DC3 will give them a hammering before they're passed on to another family. None of the branded school polos (about £9 each) will get to a third child, though they will a second. The branded jumpers shrink on first wash then stay wearable until the cuffs are too nibbled.

swingofthings · 15/08/2017 13:22

I also don't think it is astronomical at all. My friend moved to France where they don't wear uniform and she pays a lot more in clothes for school than this. For one, children clothes in the UK is VAT exempt (or whatever it is), which isn't there, so even a supermarket top is more expensive, and shoes much more.

There's no need to buy a lot of nice clothes for week-ends/holidays. They can have one or two nice outfits and everything else can be comfortable/cheap clothes.

I think it's another case of us having it good in this country but somehow people still feel they should moan because they would rather have it free.

corythatwas · 15/08/2017 13:30

Swingofthings, what your friend pays in France is surely partly down to how much she is able to pay? When my dc were young, they wore charity shop clothes and hand-me-downs because money was short. And we certainly weren't the only family in that situation.

The situation in many state schools these days seems to be that uniform costs are calculated against what would be considered economical for people on teachers' or even headteachers' salaries. For someone on the breadline that is not particularly helpful, because they would never be spending that kind on money on outfits they bought themselves. They haven't got that kind of money.

gillybeanz · 15/08/2017 13:49

My dd is private school and they don't have uniform from this year.
However when they did I bought the whole lot for the same price as my friend paid for her dd state school PE kit.

It doesn't always follow that private school uniforms cost more.

user1467923589 · 15/08/2017 14:35

Schools in Southern Ireland expect all books and stationery to be bought by parents along with uniform it can cost well over £1000 per child, you get a book list in June and make sure it's all bought by September. I remember my mum asking "where that bloody French grammar book was that she paid good money for as she'd never seen me use it!" :)

Eschra · 15/08/2017 15:56

We're at an academy that is part of a trust. Great rep, nothing is compulsory of the logo stuff. I spent less than £100 from TU/ASDA for everything (I bought the book bag, pe bag, cap and one logo jumper for pictures etc). No blazers or ties here either.

Scichic · 15/08/2017 15:58

Tesco do an embroidery service. The school has to register, and they send samples and approve the product before it goes to sale and all things purchased generate a donation to the school. I've used it since I had DS's school register when he was in reception. Uniform is correct, hassle free as delivered or collect in store, good sizes, cheap, and school gets a cash boost out of a necessity. Win win!!

LakieLady · 15/08/2017 16:01

Is it a lot for a set of clothes he'll wear all day, every day for 12 months, at least?

Or until he outgrows it, which may well be in less than a year.

Afreshstartplease · 15/08/2017 16:07

Dunno if it's already been mentioned but I buy our logo stuff from the school trends website and it's cheaper than buying direct from school. Think I paid between 12 and 13 quid for each jumper/cardigan

I've spent about 300 so far on three primary age DC and TBH I have bought one of them more than they actually needed (first girl starting school and I am being pulled in by different pretty pinafores etc)

BigFatGoalie · 15/08/2017 16:14

To kit out my 4 year old for Reception last year, at a private school in leafy Surrey....
£1000.
Let's just say the second hand uniform shop liked me that year!!
Shock Confused

tccat · 15/08/2017 16:24

Following on from my previous post, dd had her first day at secondary school today, wore the school jumper but plain white polo from m&s
Hot weather here so she took the jumper off as she was too hot and was told she wasn't allowed as the polo didn't have the school logo , she's spent the day hot and sweaty and came home upset!

noeffingidea · 15/08/2017 17:03

To the poster who said they wear school uniform every day for a year.
No they don't. There are 190 school days out of 365. That means just over 50% of days will be spent in school uniform. That £200 isn't looking like good value at all to me.
swingofthings no one is suggesting they should be given free clothes for their children, just not to have to pay more than necessary.

user7841794168 · 15/08/2017 17:08

Ah yes, that old chestnut - selection by ensuring that the uniform cost is beyond that of the average family.

I have spent about £200 on uniform for secondary school, that's without spending another £200 on school shoes, trainers and football boots.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 15/08/2017 17:16

I remember it costing about £200 to kit my DS out ready for his state primary. It was even more for DD as girls have to wear a "unique to the school" plaid skirt. One of the parents is campaigning to get the school to change to plain black school skirts but she won't succeed. It's been tried before.

Just bought DS's new uniform/sports kit for his state senior school and I'm up to £280 so far and still have the shoes to buy!

girlwhowearsglasses · 15/08/2017 17:16

I think it's shocking and pointless. My neighbour has just paid £££ for her daughter's secondary uniform for an Academy chain school. Her son has a scholarship for a very well respected independent school and she says that uniform is a lot less!

The school in question has a large proportion of kids on free school meals. In what world will a parent of even one child have a spare £200 to spend?

moonbells · 15/08/2017 18:50

The price of uniforms is awful. I go (and still get) most of DS's logo'd stuff at second hand sales and from other parents. I do have five shirts and five pairs of trousers for DS as we work f/t and really don't want to have to play the washing and ironing game midweek. When I lost mum earlier this year I bought a black school blazer for DS and I couldn't believe how much it was, or how hard it is getting stuff out of season.

Tips I've found useful

  1. When you buy new trousers, save the old ones and cut off the bottoms, then hem them. You'll then have the next summer's shorts.
  2. I've heard it's possible to carefully cut out logos off some outgrown clothes and re-sew back onto generic ones if they are the same colour and you're good at sewing/applique.
  3. Small people don't do well with buttoned shirts in a hurry. Teach him to only undo the top two or three and pull it over his head when getting changed for PE
  4. It is possible to iron a shirt with half the buttons still done up Wink
  5. Cheap socks and pants. Natch. They go missing anyway.
  6. Name EVERYTHING with labels. Even Sharpie washes out and they lose every ruddy thing! (We have a mums' whatsapp group for finding lost stuff quickly).
  7. Think ahead: if you know someone is moving away and they have an older child, ask if you can buy the stuff they no longer need so yours can grow into it.