How can they justify this

[Rosebel]

Old subject I know but how can the cost of uniform be justified. A jumper that barely lasts a year costing £26. Two sets of PE leggings costs over £40.
School insist the kids must be in proper uniform from September. We are lucky that we can afford it but I imagine (considering we live in a deprived area) there will be many parents who can't.
What do you think? Surely as school insist they must be in logoed uniform it should be more affordable or at least last a couple years.
Is the cost of uniform reasonable?

Completely agree that some secondaries charge absolutely scandalous prices. Fortunately the one my kids go to is fairly reasonable (only things that have to be logo are tie, blazer, and PE top), but a friend of mine spent over £200 on logo uniform for one child!!

@Seashor

I never understand that people don’t understand that children are money pits. Everyone surely knows before they have children that they will need clothes that they will grow out of and destroy and these clothes cost money! I’ve never found it expensive and I’ve had one in private school and one in state.

True but I generally don't spend £100on an outfit for my children. Only when it's school uniform

What about shoes? £65 in Clarks for ds (12) plain black velcro closing shoes! They wanted to charge £75 for dd. Thankfully she didn't like them anyway, but we still don't have shoes for her.
Why are they so expensive?
Just shelled out £236 on uniform had its cheap and nasty rubbish. Frayed airtex tops and nasty polyester trousers.

It’s being forced to buy poor quality and fabrics for the price. Secondary PE tops are a classic example. If it just said White T shirt they could be bought cheaply or 100% cotton etc up to parents. You can choose a style that fits child. Instead you have to pay £15 for a poor quality top that is too wide, that goes grey and baggy just because it has a tiny crest. They also request they have initials embroidered on at a cost per letter which also stops hand me downs (most ignore that but having been bitten in yr 7)

Often not badges sold separately, but printed.
Schools should do second hand shops tho as standard

Ours does do a second hand shop but the only thing that can really get resold is PE tops as all the jumpers, shirts and trousers look like rags by the time they are second hand.

I am fairly lucky with mine, though I have had to just buy DD a year 11 jumper, mine need a blazer, tie, jumper and pe top from the school shop, everything else can be general items.

Jumpers seem ok, and ds will be able to wear dd's as they are still in good condition.

Some schools just have a ridiculous amount of required clothing though, and logos for logos sake. On another thread a poster said that within all the prospectus information there should be full lists of uniform requirements and costs so parents know what is expected at that stage.

personally school uniform and the cost doesnt bother me . i just top it up as i go along, all iv had to get for next month is some new trousers which are generic black tailored , and a new tie costing 7 as the stripes change in year 9 . oh and the winter pe fleece with logo from the school shop
at the end of the day if it was like canada or united states we would still be coughing up for new clothes continually , except then it would be a continual round of oh can i have a new pair of the latest nikes cos all the other boys have them and im getting the mickey taken .

my mum is canadian and she had all this at school, if you werent wearing the right clothes ,the piss got taken out of you , she honestly thinks school uniform is great as everybody is having to wear much the same items , its not a competition on who had the coolest gear
personally it gets my goat when parents wont pay out for it , or make excuses as to why it cant be bought , theres a boy at my dds school who asked her out , it lasted only a month before she didnt want to know , but despite the fact , hes got not only his own laptop and an xbox. the games for it are about 40 odd quid alone , he frequently comes in wearing trainers . . his own stuff for the pe kit . , dd overheard him telling a teacher once his parents couldnt afford a pair of black shoes hence the trainers , but they can afford to give him money for games though . its just excuses sometimes . not saying all parents , but a small minority just begrudge having to buy it

I understand that logo'd trousers and skirts are overkill and complicated expensive PE kits are unnecessary but trousers, shirts, jumpers, blazers etc should be viewed as cost per wear and then I think uniform could be considered cheaper than non-school clothes.

My DD wore a kilt for school which was about £50 but was able to wear it for three school years so approx 10p per wear.

So lucky here in Scotland that it doesn't seem to be an issue at all. Some schools insist on a blazer but unless you're at an independent school then as long as you follow the uniform code, it's fine.
DS1 if off to school today in back jeans, white shirt, black trainers and school tie.

Our secondary uniform costs a bomb and is terrible quality and now we aren't allowed to go to the shop either. We have to order online and delivery is £4.50.

I nearly cried when the DD left her blazer out and the cat knitted it with massive pulls all over it, had to shell out another £36 2 weeks into the new school year.