£140 for 3 school skirts?

[User112]

Wtf!? My friend’s DD is in secondary school, she paid £140 for just 3 skirts !! Wtf !! its a STATE school.

how do people from low income families even afford this? How are state schools able to demand such expensive uniforms? Why don’t they have something fairly simple and standard like primary school uniforms?

I get 2 full sets of uniforms for my primary school DD for under £100!!

I thought DDs were expensive at £27 each. Especially as the boys wear normal grey trousers. I only bought two.

YANBU. Its a ridiculous price.

I've just bought ds uniform (primary) all from Asda so pretty cheap comparatively. Except the jumpers which a logo, they were £12 each. Probably spent around £90. Including pe kit which is a lot imo.

I'd buy one new skirt and one second hand (or both second hand). All of our school uniform has dried overnight so no need for three skirts, DS had two trousers, five shirts, one blazer. That is expensive per skirt though!

I’d also just buy one and insist she changes as soon as she gets home.

they have demanding jobs (Nhs) and don’t usually get around to laundry until their day off. Her kids always had plenty of school uniform, I learnt this from her

That is far too expensive.

The government stance is that uniform should be neither single supplier, not unduly expensive.

Unfortunately, that policy (which I think originated under Balls and was reaffirmed under Gove) has never had any enforcement teeth and is therefore widely ignored.

CAB page on assistance in paying for school costs

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/education/help-with-school-costs/

They used to campaign about 'hidden' costs of state schooling, but I can't find that page now

Two would still be plenty surely? DS usually wore the one pair of trousers and they went in the wash at the end of the week, second pair as back up.

At that price 1 would be sufficient plus a backup pair of uniform trousers.
Presumably they are fancy skirts, (my bet because too many of the girls weren't sticking to the uniform rules previously.)

The school my eldest 2 went to has a ridiculous uniform. It is a state academy. I'm the 6th form they wear suits. For my son alone yr 12 cost me over £300 suit (one only), shirts, shoes, PE kit, Pe trainers, socks, stationary etc The jacket was over £70. The girls in the lower school wear a kilt - 2015 this cost £40 I suspect it'll be more now. Add in shoes, Pe trainers and football boots in adult sizes and you're well on the way to £200. Academies have a lot to answer for imo. And when people complain as they do in the media every year do the say people can't afford this we will lower the requirements? No they set up second hand uniform exchanges. I hate uniform - it's pointless and too expensive.

By secondary surely they just need one skirt though? Although I’d still consider over £40 per skirt too much.

I’m with you OP. The number is not really the point it’s still £40 a skirt. Crazy.

The policy should be law not guidance, if not followed no child can have any action taken for not wearing uniform. No sending home, no denial of a lesson etc.

A very small step towards keeping the cost of living down, simple and would be welcomed.

My two eldest attend a small state secondary and the uniform is extortionate. The PE kit and uniform can only be obtained from one supplier. It costs hundreds. I think the skirts are £24 per skirt though, £140 for three sounds a heck of a lot more than what we pay.

DD's skirt is £35, trousers £27 and blazer £85. Blazer is dry cleaner only.

I never bought more than 1 skirt and trousers. She changes as soon as she is home and if really they need a mid-week wash they are dry the next morning.

DD leart fast how to operate the washing machine to do it herself.

That's state secondary but all our secondaries have ridiculous uniform rules and apart from one boy school all items have to be bought from one supplier. And don't get me talking about PE kit.

£45 for a school skirt, I don’t believe it at all. If it is true unless there’s three children more fool her for buying three.

My dds skirts are also £40 each. State grammar. They are beautiful though!

My DC only had one skirt. I would sponge it if she had a mark on it. I agree that senior school uniform is terribly expensive though and it is a big expense in one go at the start of year 7.It isn't as if they have stopped growing so there is another big outgoing in year 9 or so.

i bought two school kilts when DD1 started her state secondary. This was ten years ago so they were probably £30+ back then. Not cheap.

Washed at weekends and alternated so work week on / week off. When DD2 started a couple of years later I bought one more and they shared the three kilts between them for the time they crossed over, and DD2 continued wearing them until she left - so three skirts and ten years of wear.

So although they seemed expensive on purchase, they didn't work out that way over the decade the two girls were at that school between them. Actually they were very good value.

To be fair, I suppose the kilt style did help due to the wraparound waistband allowing for some growth, but I bought big at the start. They were a bit small by the end but at least my DDs didn't have to roll their kilts up like everyone else did by Y11!

YANBU. That's ridiculous. Although I wouldn't have bought 3.

My DS is at an independent school, and his trousers are £25 a pair. We went uniform shopping yesterday and spent £131 on trousers, six shirts, school shoes, running shoes and socks.

This year his rugby boots, most of his sports kit and both sweaters are second hand. The PTA runs a second hand swap and sell. Every family in the school uses it at some time. It would be crazy not to, They grow so fast.

There was a school where we used to live where the girls wore kilts (!). They cost a fortune and ,do you know, they had to be dry-cleaned! What idiots thought of that? I've thought for ages that schools shouldn't require uniforms, just reasonable clothing to be worn.

My DDs skirt was £40 too. State secondary. Blazer was £76! The skirt is a lovely knee length kilt though.

That’s ridiculous.
My daughter is going into secondary this year and we are allowed to buy supermarket ones. They just have to be pleated.

Iv bought 4 from M&S for £28!

I would refuse! Although if secondary I could see how that would be hard...

My son's primary is ace. No requirement for anything branded, so every stitch of uniform can be purchased from Asda. They also have a uniform bank, as do all of the primary and secondary schools in the village. Uniforms are donated, cleaned, and left with with our village hub. It is marketed as a way to reduce waste and help be more eco, with no mention of money or means testing. I think it's a really good idea.