God no we Love a in leggings and t shirts. I said charity shops and stock up when it's 3 for 2 in h&m. I do hand me downs and sale and voucher codes . I do not spend the kind of money on clothing that I do in uniform.
My biggest grievance I that I don't like being ripped off. I would spend 60 + on a pair of dms or sturdy walking boots. Cos I know they would last and I could pass them.down to dd2 and I could probably by half a size bigger as They are boots and get the wear out of them.
I resent paying fifty quid on school shoes which have no other purpose and won't survive for dd2.
I don't spend 30 pounds on one item why should I pay 30 pound a for a blazer ?
And no there isn't a choice. 2 of the local schools have the same online supplier. And the one that seemed to acknowledge that parents arent made of money now seem.to have a more expensive uniform than when I looked at it a year ago.
I've spent over 200 quid so far and still not done.
It's taken weeks and a slow turn around with returns and refunds.
Much more hassle than free click in collect in next where they take back in store.
And it's always girls tht are more expensive. 17 quid for a skirt I've had to pay. Of course I need more than one so all in all 34 quid on 2 items. That shirts pe shorts 2 pack , 2 skirts , in next for dd1 at primary. The primary school skirts she was wearing cost me 6 quid in Tesco. I could get 5 and still have change for 34 quid.
One thing these schools don't factor in is how rubbish these suppliers can be. It took over 2 weeks can receive the items cost 4 pound in delivery. I then had to return (another 4 quid). Good job I was paid again cos if I had had to have waited the 10 days for a refund in order to reorder and it took another two weeks it cuts it bloody fine time wise. Hi also am yet to receive an item and that may not arrive at all. Don't use suppliers who can't keep up with the demand ffs. It's stressful enough worrying about starting school without worrying about detentions and isolation cos the supplier ran out of stuff and you are missing parts of your uniform.
And the other thing that pissed me off with what could other wise be sourced from.a variety of shops is that the starting sizes in some of these suppliers are too big.
When you can try on a range of items you can find one that fits. Narrow it down to 2 approved items that either start at too large a size or are so poorly made/badly cut they are not fit for purpose then you are pretty fucked. But Hey I guess that's how you rip off families cos you then make them buy the skirts at 17 quid a go ..
Here's a thought. How about concentrating on teaching
The worse the school performs the more they faff about with the uniform