To think it's a bit cheeky for schools to only approve expensive stores for uniform purchases?

[malificent7]

Do our local comp approves only John Lewis, M and S and the local ( expensive ) uniform stores for uniform when very similar can be bought for a fraction of the price in a supermarket.
The sport kit is worse...basically a plain white polo shirt where a pack of 2 costs 3/4 pounds in tescos but no.....a single white polo shirt costs £8.50 in the local uniform store...why? Because pe department have decided the white polo shirt MUST havr no buttons so that girls can be differentiated from boys.
Wtf? Aibu to buy the tescos games shirts for half price and cut the buttons off...andcwrite a terse letter to school?
Yes...i am one of THOSE mums but i am a single parent, student and want to teach dd the art of economising!

Its phenomenally cheeky.

Totally agree, luckily my dds school have a sensible approach to uniform, can even buy a black skirt and get uniform shop to sew logo on (necessary to stop skirt rolling apparently!). Blazers are about £24 yet the exact same blazer but in different colour for another local school is £45. When I asked shop they said other school makes money from uniform and states how much they should be sold for!

Not just me then...would it be cheeky of me to write a lletter to the school before my daughter even starts?

Our local comp only "approves " 1 type of skirt and 1 type of trousers. And, yes, they are more than averagely expensive. The school started doing this because too many children were stretching the uniform rules. However, in reality, if you wear something that looks vaguely the same from any supplier , you won't be pulled up for it. The stating of 1 style only allowed is for children obviously flaunting the rule have no come back.

Might be the same at OP's comp, in which came her plan is fine!

YANBU Op . I have two DC starting school in September. I nearly had a heart attack when I read the cost of uniform from the one shop that sells it

We are the same £16 a jumper and school pe kit is £14 because it has a logo on

Fuming

I didn't know that supermarket uniforms at secondary age existed until I read about them on Mumsnet. It is completely normal in my area to have to buy them from the school supplier, with the exception of white shirts. A supermarket uniform would save a fortune. My daughter's uniform cost hundreds, but it wouldn't have mattered what school she went to, they're all the same.

Yep l think it’s a liberty and rather unfair. As long as the uniform policy is followed then who cares?

This is a bugbear of mine. I don't think schools should be allowed to insist on specific suppliers, or logoed uniform. Uniform should be made up of standard items in standard colours, possibly with a specific school tie, and sew-on badges for blazers/jumpers.

If my kids are faced with an expensive uniform at secondary, I fully intend to protest.

The trouble is that the previous uniform was quite scruffy but imo cheaper uniform often looks just as smart ....
In this day and age and in this economic climate its annoying.

We are the same £16 a jumper and school pe kit is £14 because it has a logo on

But that's really cheap surely? How much would a supermarket one cost? My daughter's school hoodie cost £45. And it was stolen after a month and I had to buy another one. Her PE leggings were £25, her skort £20, her t shirt £23. And on and on. Then there was skirt, blazer, scarf, PE bag etc.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/514978/School_Uniform_Guidance.pdf

It’s worth questioning the school. Single supplier logo items should be kept to a minimum and cost should be considered by the schools so that items can be bought more cheaply at supermarkets.

High schools can enforce a uniform and some do so very strictly. So it really depends if you want your child to start their high school days in isolation (which is what would happen at my DD school.)

I'm afraid that high school may give you the option that if you chose their school you have to follow their rules.

Many parents find the switch from primary school to secondary hard-particularly the fact that high schools don't worry too much about parents complaining; they're not as accommodating as most primaries.

No @isabellerossignol that's not cheap. Not when you can buy them from the supermarket for a few £

I only stuck to this in year 1, even bought school backpack (weak quality and costly) fast forward to year 2, and I buy plain polo and sweatshirts no logo, and I don't care. Even getting an ordinary backpack for year 3. My DS is not neat & tidy, and as he goes through quite a couple of shirts and sweatshirts, Matalan George and Asda works just fine.

It's not 'a bit cheeky'. It's a gigantic rip off. It's stealth selection by wealth. And people mostly just seem to shrug and go 'oh well' and accept it, like sheep. I don't understand it at all.

But until parents start protesting against this exploitation en masse, there will not be hard legislation to stop schools doing this, and they will just continue to get away with it.

I'm lucky enough to have a local school with a sensible (read: affordable) take on uniform (and no uniform at all in 6th form), but the single supplier racket continues in far too many places.

No @isabellerossignol that's not cheap. Not when you can buy them from the supermarket for a few £

How much would they cost in the supermarket?

It also STILL creates a rich/ poor divide which is againt one of the main benefits of uniform; the desire to make everyone seem equal.
I mean why is John Lewis an approved supplier and not Tescos or Asda? If you want to buy John Lewis you gave to either go to a big town or buy online...likewise with M and S.

www.tesco.com/zones/clothing/school-uniform/

Tesco’s seem to get consistently good results. There is no need for a school blazer, scarf or specific coat when others are more than suitable at a better cost and often quality.

There’s no point in complaining, it won’t change a thing. Yes, buy the Tesco polo shirt and cut the buttons off - who wouldn’t? And substitute wherever it won’t notice but please don’t be “one of those” parents. It’s not fair on your daughter.

How much would they cost in the supermarket?

Have you never been to a supermarket? You must know you can buy a jumper for under £16. Asda school jumpers are 2 for £6, for example.

Go and see the Governors - they will have to justify the costs of individual school uniform items.

Have you never been to a supermarket? You must know you can buy a jumper for under £16. Asda school jumpers are 2 for £6, for example.

No, I said upthread that I have never seen secondary age uniform in a supermarket. They don't sell them for that age group. That's why I asked.

I mean they don't sell them for that age group where I live. They would never be able to supply all the colours for the local schools anyway.

isabelle what supermarkets to you have around you? Because every single decent sized branch of Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA etc. round my way sells secondary uniform!

Not that I will ever be buying it again with DD2 now headed to non-uniform 6th form where she can wear what the heck she likes and have blue hair if she wants.

It’s immoral and shouldn’t be allowed. How on Earth we get from inclusive, friendly, supportive primaries with sensible but relaxed uniforms to MAT secondaries who seem above the law and don’t seem to care about what students or parents think and are happy to rip people off is beyond me . It’s a national scandal.

I tried to get MN to do a campaign on secondary uniform policies last year but couldn’t get it off the ground.

There have been petitions etc over the years but nothing ever seems to change.