Why is going back to school items so expensive?!

[yoodledoodle]

I have 2 Dd's, one of 8 and one of 11. Oldest DD is starting senior school. It has honestly cost me an absolute fortune.
£200 at the school uniform shop on necessary 'logo' items
£50 in M & S on shirts/tights/socks etc
£30 school bag
£15 lunch bag
£10 water bottle
£50 school shoes
£85 trainers
£20 pencil case and stationary
£50 new school coat (plain black no logo)

Plus I have younger DD who I have also spent around £200 on to cover her new school uniform and new bits that she needs.

In total over £700 on school stuff!! Plus I have ended up buying little odds and ends! I know this sounds excessive but the majority of her friends and some of it could have been bought a bit cheaper but I don't think anything was particularly excessive?!

I feel so sorry for the pressure it puts on parents who can't afford it. I don't know what the answer is but it honestly can't be to spend this amount of money on uniform

Surely there were cheaper options than £85 trainers and £25 for lunch bag and water bottle?

It’s awful isn’t it. I’ve had to spend £500 just on branded uniform for my yr 7 dc.

Whilst I don't disagree about logo items, it wasn't necessary to spend £50 on school shoes and £85 on trainers. I've no doubt the coat could have been cheaper too. It's an expensive time of year so if the cost bothers you, you need to shop savvier.

That’s without shoes, bag, stationery etc

A lot of that you could have got much cheaper though. Nobody needs To spend £85 on a pair of trainers!

All of these could have been cheaper or not bought at all, what's wrong with the lunch bag, box, water bottle and stationary that was being used 6 weeks ago?

Shoes and trainers from sainsburys are good quality and a fraction of the price.

£30 school bag
£15 lunch bag
£10 water bottle
£50 school shoes
£85 trainers
£20 pencil case and stationary

There are cheaper alternatives to some of the items you've chosen. 15 pound for a lunch box is a lot you could find a cheaper one same for trainers 85 pound is a lot.

I've had to spend £50 on shoes but mine have to fit right (spd) fit his insoles (hypermobile) and fit school requirements

He has trainers for a tenner off ebay for school (they are more flexible so work well with spd and insoles) everything else is sale or as needed for example i won't replace a school jumper until October what's the point he won't wear it until then school bags are reduced at sports direct while his did cost £20 he is hard on bags (he walks funny and leans on walls they get trashed easily)

Honestly I replace as needed we only buy if needed

£200 at the school uniform shop on necessary 'logo' items
£50 in M & S on shirts/tights/socks etc - Asda/Tesco would have been cheaper
£30 school bag sports direct have them for a tenner
£15 lunch bag unnecessary
£10 water bottle B&M/ Asda cheaper
£50 school shoes sports direct cheaper
£85 trainers PAH!! Wouldn’t have been happening here.
£20 pencil case and stationary Poundland cheaper
£50 new school coat (plain black no logo) Asda/Tesco cheaper.

You wasted a whole load of money unnecessarily.

£85 on trainers for school is just stupid.

I will give you the logo stuff because it’s a pain in the arse and always expensive (my sons blazer is £72!) but the rest? No sorry op that’s on you.

£85 trainers for school? No bloody chance.

£10 for a water bottle? You can get a decent one for half that in in Wilkos or Asda.

£15 for a lunch bag? Good Lord, tell her to take some plain Tupperware.

I thought I had it bad! £400 (ish, including coats and whatnot) on 2 primary DC. I was blown away that DS school shoes were £56 when I got to the till 😬 I don't feel too bad about it now!
DD chose a lunchbox last year that was £28. Only discovered the price at the till that time too and she was so happy about that specific lunchbox. That hurt.

High school -
Mine got trainers from decathalon for less than £30.

Picked under armour backpack for £15
M&S school shoes £38
Water bottle from tesco £3
He doesnt use lunch bag
School logo coat which was £30

branded uniform you can't do anything about but £85 on trainers?

& £25 on lunch bottle & bag seems a lot.

Btw Asda do a school savings card that adds a bonus in July (I think)

You can have as many as you like and the bonus increases the more you save up to £280ish. Works out about 5%. You’re not getting that interest rate in any of the banks.

You didn’t need to buy half of that stuff, at those prices, though. More fool you.

You’ve kept up with the Jones’ then moan about it, while saying you feel for those that can’t afford it. You made choices either you could or couldn’t afford, no one forced you.
DC have similar to yours but that’s a choice we made. I’m under no illusion that I couldn’t have bought it for a quarter of most of those choices.

Asda George. The only badged item I had to buy was a blazer and PE shorts. Everything else was cheap as chips from Asda. It's been a long time since I had to do this, which means I well know that loads of this stuff will be lost by 4 weeks after they start! This is marginally less annoying if you didn't spend too much on it to begin with😁

I can afford it and I know some of it could have been bought cheaper, but not massively so! It still would have cost well over £500 even choosing cheaper options.
I have bought school uniform from Asda before and it didn't even last until Christmas before bobbling/shrinking. Whereas the M and S stuff I bought lasted until it didn't fit anymore, likewise with school shoes.

The trainers were probably the most expensive item and maybe a bit excessive but honestly, most girls her age all have expensive ones and I don't want her to be left out or made fun off. School is tough enough at that age!! That's why I feel so bad for people that would struggle to pay for everything.

There were cheaper options for everything you bought, it I don’t really understand parents complaining about the cost of basic things their children need to go to school. It’s not like it comes as a surprise that children go to school and need stuff.

Even if your child didn’t go to school they’d still need decent shoes, a coat and clothes to wear, you can’t blame schools for that.

You've chosen to spend that, the only other essential expense (after compulsory uniform) is a calculator, everything else is pretty much a choice.

Your youngest will benefit from your acquired wisdom.

honestly, most girls her age all have expensive ones

No, honestly, they don’t.

Agree with other posters, you could have bought most of the stuff cheaper bar the logo uniform.

The trainers were probably the most expensive item and maybe a bit excessive but honestly, most girls her age all have expensive ones and I don't want her to be left out or made fun off.

My children have never had £85 trainers, lots of their friends probably have, but they’ve never been left out or made fun of for having cheaper trainers. I’ve brought them up not to be materialistic and they’ve chosen friends that don’t care about what their mates wear on their feet. If your daughters friends would make fun of her for having trainers cheaper than £85 then your daughter needs to choose her friends more wisely and you need to help her work on her self esteem.