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

@caughtinanet I'm in Scotland. We do have logo-ed uniform but no-one has to buy it, it’s just an option.

Also to PP's who said that they wouldn't spend £85 on trainers for themselves, neither would I. But as a teenager, I remember that feeling of not having the latest stuff.

I remember this feeling too but personally think it's a good lesson.

I remember this feeling too but personally think it's a good lesson.

Me too. You can't have everything you want in life and the sooner one learns that the better.

If your parents stretch to buying the in footwear and clothes they can I'll afford it may lead to them doing it themselves in adulthood incurring debts for things they don't need.

I've never been interested in the latest trends now or as a teen. I didn't want what everyone else has and I still don't.

Exactly, there will always be people with more

Take the trainers back (or keep for home use) and buy some £25 ones from Adidas for school - I can almost guarantee they will be stolen before the term is over.

*ill afford not I'll

You have spent far more than necessary. Since when does Primark/Asda/Tesco stuff fall apart.

We've just changed school so pretty much everything's changed uniform colour - down to tights. I think I've spent - for the two of them about £200 on base uniform items (I do tend to overbuy as I don't like HAVING to do a mid-week uniform wash - if I get one on all the better) but I've bought them big enough that I should get through to the end of year 6 for DD1, and DD2 tends to get any un-wrecked uniform skirts etc passed down anyway to top up supplies.

£45 on logged cardigans (which I ordered mid July and still haven't appeared - apparently I'll get them on Monday) from the only shop that does them (they've got colours through the waistband and cuffs so it's more than just getting the logo done on them).

Haven't bought PE bags or stuff - had to buy new PE kit but it's supermarket basics (they had completely outgrown their old stuff - the trousers were veering very much into the capri pants category), oldest trainers in the house generally make it into the school PE bag (so I don't cry when they get lost). Pencil cases and stationery I only tend to buy for DD2 as she has strong preferences for pencils she can grip better because of her SEN - I restocked all of that, had to buy a new handwriting slope as the old school had let it get completely destroyed in protest at not "believing" her SEN diagnosis! (Survived two years prior to that - and then this class teacher enabled two to get wrecked in under a year).

New school bags were about a tenner each. Lunchboxes - one had recently had a replacement, the other one had a knackered one so got a replacement from Argos on clearance (it was the one she took a fancy too thankfully). Water bottles they still have their old metal ones that DD1's dropped so many times it's gone from not standing up anymore to standing back up! - and we have a pool of spares in the house as well - they'll get replaced when they get tatty (or lost).

Coats etc still fit them (I just need to get them out and wash them again) - I need to pick up my usual million pairs of black gloves at some point (I buy in bulk and then just re-pair the random odd ones). Shoes still fit them as my kids seem to have small and slow growing feet.

With the change of school and the fact the pair of them have absolutely shot up in height - this year's been more spendy than the previous one. Plus this school has logged cardigans - the old school didn't.

Had to send DH out to buy new tights this week for them as I realised I'd forgotten those and my kids are all bloody legs so there was no way any of their remaining correct colour ones would pull up enough anymore!

Most of the old school uniform has gone to a family member whose child has the same colour dresses - or to the local uniform recycling group.

@N0PE

Bloody hell. Mine are at a catholic high school and aren’t like that, thankfully. Thanks for explaining.

Our school allows black jeans, black joggers, black trainers (rather than proper shoes). I very much appreciate this and even more-so after reading this thread!

You sound very fortunate. My DC's school has the least official uniform requirements in the area - blazer, tie, jumper and pe top - everything else can be general school wear. The other schools in the area have a lot more regulated uniform.

I did have to spend a small fortune on trousers for dd though, as she is so blooming tall. A friend has her dd at a school with regulation trousers and the biggest (length) are too short for her. If they are going to stipulate what pupils wear then it needs to be in sizes to fit all pupils.

[quote N0PE]@caughtinanet I'm in Scotland. We do have logo-ed uniform but no-one has to buy it, it’s just an option.[/quote]
@N0PE that explains it, English schools are very different. Saying you won't buy the logo-ed uniform just isn't an option

@Hemingwaycat

Oh he needed £20 worth of stationery too, forgot that gem. Secondary school uniform is extortionate and the worst thing is they have gender specific blazers so I can’t even reuse DS’s once he’s outgrown it… sigh.

Same for us, ds will get the jumpers and pe tops though, including the specific, for one year only, year 11 one.

I do find m and s stuff washes better and can often be passed on.
For primary school generic uniform I would rather buy second hand m and s or John Lewis on Vinted than brand new supermarket.

Wtf would you spend a tenner on a water bottle?!

My top tip is to go to Tesco for stationery if you have a clubcard - most of the items are around 50% less on the clubcard price.

If you count the pay per wear of the school uniform it's actually usually good value compared to other clothes you might buy that would be rarely used.
When my dd went to Secondary l spent a lot of money on uniform but she wore it for the full time until she left..every day for 6 years!! Where would l get better value?
Children go to school every day..the things you buy are well used. It will be worth it.

Generally I agree for uniforom.

But £85 for trainers worn once a week is going to work out at over £2 a wear!

Im impressed she didn't grow in 6 years!!!

Im hoping the yr 7 stuff will last into yr 8 . But the blazers already a little small and I think most of it will need replacing for yr 9.

I got all of Daughter's stuff for less than you spent on trainers.

Asda do polos for £2.50 for 2.
Trousers for £6 for 2 pairs.
Shoes and pumps for like £5 each pair.
Bag she already had a school official one from last year.
Cardigans of the right colour cost around £6 for 2.

Seems like a lot of parents put a lot of pressure on themselves.

While I agree it’s a lot of money - our kids live in these clothes/shoes etc for a minimum 30 hours a week every week throughout the whole school year, (not including travel or any before/after school care/club) personally I’d rather my kids were happy and comfortable in their uniforms my 2 have ASD among other things and I understand I have a luxury to be able to afford to buy the stuff my kids need/prefer and some parents don’t but regardless if I had £500 or £50 I’d still try my best to make sure they were comfortable in clothes and shoes they spend the majority of their time in.

I've found spreading the load over the year and actually deciding what they need in September as opposed to just buying new each September is a help.

Coats and tights, they don't need them when they go back in September so that's a cost that can be saved for October/November time.

Stationery, do they need new or is it fine from last term? I buy as and when in the sales during the year, same with a lunch box etc.

Logo Uniform, fair enough if they are starting a new school. With my DS we've decided his jacket will last size wise until Christmas (he's going into year 8) rather than just thinking he needs new for the school year. Same with skirts/trousers as they go through the year. I might replace dds skirt at Easter for instance which she will where until it no longer fits rather than just replacing automatically in September.

Trainers, mine bring their kit home (secondary) after each pe day so they wear their trainers out of school too and just pack them for school on kit days so it doesn't seem as bad buying a more expensive pair which they like. Primary they just had a cheap pair which were left at school all the time.

The biggest cost is usually the start of year 7/a new school where they need all the new kit and secondary after require more specific equipment such as calculators/certain colour pens etc.

But once you have it then it really is a "as and when" scenario for me. Unless of course your dc loses their (named!) pencil case in the first term and you need to replace all the very specific equipment....!

@junebirthdaygirl my son started Y7 at 5' tall and is predicted to leave at 6'2" (he's 5'9" now at 13). Already had to replace everything 3 / 4 times.

@PalmarisLongus how old is your dd? And how old are the people who make her clothes?

£15 for a lunch bag 🤣 that's ridiculous

@PalmarisLongus

I got all of Daughter's stuff for less than you spent on trainers.

Asda do polos for £2.50 for 2.
Trousers for £6 for 2 pairs.
Shoes and pumps for like £5 each pair.
Bag she already had a school official one from last year.
Cardigans of the right colour cost around £6 for 2.

Seems like a lot of parents put a lot of pressure on themselves.

Oh the good old days of uniform for little people. Sadly as they grow so do the prices - ds's trousers are now £12 for two pairs, dd1 I have to get from the uniform shop as supermarket ones don't fit.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

[quote yoodledoodle]@N0PE
The school insist on logo stuff- they are very strict. Only a state comp (but catholic) and they have been in our local news several years on the trot for excluding students without logo stuff, wearing hair gel, more than one earring, school trousers to slim cut etc etc
The trousers and skirts now have to be purchased from the school shop- the skirt is a unique design and trousers have a particular piping and logo on. Jumpers are a unique colour and knitted- you definitely wouldn't be able to buy them in a high street shop![/quote]
That's a nightmare & sounds like a case of faith school social selection to me. Poorer parent put off applying by the expense. Whole different topic.
My DD has expensive trainers but is taking cheap ones / hand me downs ones to school