School blazer - £90?!

[Livvielo]

Posting for traffic really… DD 11 starts secondary school in September, and we are just purchasing her uniform… £90 for a blazer?! Is that the norm?! That’s without the school skirt, PE kit and various other bits that have to be purchased from the school. How many blazers do you buy? This is just a catholic comprehensive girls school, although it is regarded as extremely good.
But £90 for a blazer?? Is that not a bit OTT?

OP, you are not unreasonable to baulk at the cost but I think you are a bit unreasonable not to have realised that a really distinctive uniform that could only come from one supplier would be expensive. As you also think the uniform is hideous, I’m surprised you didn’t try to steer your DD away! No use complaining now that another local school’s bog standard uniform is cheaper.

School uniform is such a relic and needs to vent done away with. It’s such bad environmentally to require two sets of cloths, one of which being polyester.

I actually don’t think that’s expensive considering it’s going to be worn 6-7 hours a day, 5 days a week for 39 weeks at least.

I wouldn’t buy one thats too big to make it last. Teens can be cruel and I remember witnessing bullying of poorer children whose parents had done this. Not nice.

£105 for a blazer for my 5 year old DS recently. All the ones in the second hand uniform shop were absolutely battered. Thankfully 2 DC of the same sex who will be going to the same school so should hopefully get some decent wear out of it. It’s a total racket. (Though admittedly this is private so less surprised by the cost of uniform and lots of people use second hand with no judgment)

Our state secondary has just changed it's uniform so no chance of second hand, PE kit was £85. Annoys me as the school get a kickback from the uniform supplier so clear incentive for bespoke uniforms.

My son's school blazer isn't expensive, but the PE kit is eye watering. He's going into Year 9 (equivalent of Year 8 - we're in NI) and has shot up several inches in one year, so every single thing had to be replaced. I think girls have less growing still to do when they start secondary school, so you might get longer out of the uniform. I got through secondary school with just two blazers. Ours were wool and dry clean only, but thankfully we didn't have to wear them all day. Sweaty teenagers boiled in the bag in wool blazers all day would be horrific

Get on to the school governing body, point out that government guidance is:

No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform. School governing bodies should therefore give high priority to cost considerations. The governing body should be able to demonstrate how best value has been achieved and keep the cost of supplying the uniform under review

When considering how the school uniform should be sourced, governing bodies should give highest priority to the consideration of cost and value for money for parents. The school uniform should be easily available for parents to purchase and schools should seek to select items that can be purchased cheaply, for example in a supermarket or other good value shop. Schools should keep compulsory branded items to a minimum and avoid specifying expensive items of uniform eg expensive outdoor coats.

Just noticed that in fact new statutory guidance is supposed to be coming out in the autumn requiring schools to keep uniform costs down. However, I'm not holding out too much hope for the government doing it properly.

I like a uniform- I have a child at sixth form college and a child at school- the clothing worn by the one at 6th form is lots more!
However- the government have just set out new guidance for schools to ensure that uniform is as cost effective as it can be.
I wonder if you can ask the school how they are following the guidance? (April 2021).
The costs you have listed are very expensive. What a worry for many households.

Our catholic high school has blazers at £35 and the option to buy pre-loved at £5 as well. And they are only mandatory in 5th and 6th year.

School tie is gifted by school with replacements at £5.

The rest of the uniform can be bought in supermarkets. Eg plain black jumpers, plain black trousers plain white shirts etc

£90 is disgraceful.

Does your school have a second hand Facebook sale group or maybe you can start one? I’d be tempted to get one started! Sometimes the parents’ association run second hand sales to raise money for the school.

£75 for blazers here and £40 for the matching trousers.

When I went to school (granted a fair while ago) I attended a Catholic all-girls grammar school where the blazers looked like deckchairs and they even had hat for the summer, the blazers were £70 then, so I imagine they’d be similar pricing to your now. I think it’s disgusting but that the price is likely driven up by the colouring of the blazers as they’re not generic with a badge put on them, I’d be questioning it with the PTA (or whatever it’s called now).

That is a lot of money for a blazer I agree. Buy one with a generous fit!

I think some schools have very expensive uniforms on purpose to deter poorer families from attending.

One of our local MP's raised this issue- it had a successful effect on local schools- asking them to see if they could make uniforms more affordable.

That’s awful. My dd has grown so much in secondary school (she’s now year 10 and very tall/broad) and I have to replace uniform and shoes a lot. She would never be in the same blazer for two years.

@Livvielo

I agree with you that secondary uniforms are particularly outrageous but did you not check the price of the uniform before picking the school.

Just bought secondary uniform. Blazer was less than £30. Skirts £17.50 and shirts a few quid from the supermarket. I thought that was bad enough!

My dd skirt was £50. Schools aren't allowed to only have one supplier but they do.

Wow. If it helps, my DD managed to make her blazer last the whole way through from y7 to the end of y11.

Some of our local secondaries have cheap, but very thin and shiny blazers. They are nothing like the thicker, wool ones that hold their shape and are warm and durable. Suspect that is why there is a price difference.

Our prep blazer £85 - buoyant second hand market though, each for DS1 has lasted 2-3 yrs so far before outgrown and they last so well they do multiple kids.

@Maldives2006 why should a family need to do that? It’s a state school, so all families should have the right to attend without fear of bankrupting themselves to buy uniform.

It’s notable that the grammar schools just over the county border from us are the schools with £120, those on our side of the border and the comprehensive schools are 1/4 or 1/3 of the price. Clearly children from lower income families are at a disadvantage before they even start at those schools.

I thought there was a plan or even a Bill in Parliament to effectively turn the guidance into law. The idea of uniform is great, single source supplier and expense as a result is unacceptable. Worth raising with your MP.

@EvilEdna1 I agree.

Boasting mum - son goes to seriously good high school. It's a state grammar, so already selecting for parents that are willing to do extra. The blazers for his school go up to £65. In the same school uniform shop, the blazers for the nearest high school go up to £30.

I think there's a combination of selecting for wealthier parents and knowing that even the poorer parents will do all it takes to keep their kid there, even pay out stupid money for uniform.