£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 would raise it with the governors.

I would raise it with the school governors.
My DCs senior school actually insisted all parents went to George and brought uniform from there, and really discouraged anyone to buy logo uniform.

There’s nothing to cope with. There’s nothing smelly or embarrassing about wearing a school skirt more than once. It should be encouraged. It’s only touching your legs, or not at all, if you wear tights. The idea that people think it’s embarrassing or smelly to re-wear clothing is a major problem in society today -there’s no need to add to it. Or you could wear an underskirt. As I said, when I was at secondary school, my wool school kilt (and I only had one) only was washed every half-term, and that was completely normal.

But that’s Vimes boots theory all over again, alongside PP’s post about cheap uniform being a false economy. Of course if you buy better quality it will last longer. But if you can’t afford to buy quality, that’s irrelevant.
I couldn't afford to buy quality for all brand new items. That's why I said it's necessary to have sufficient second hand available. In my experience it still lasts better than new cheap clothing.

Have you ever been on a bus at school going home time? It can smell pretty bad.

Polyester is notoriously sweaty. The teenage years are where personal hygiene and keeping themselves and theories clothes clean matters the most. Unless you want your dd to be the girl the kids all sniggered and laughed about when she gets off the bus.

I witnessed amd smelled things like that for years. Given the amount of adults I serve at work who reek of BO clearly people have zero awareness of just how often you should wash and/or change clothes.

No. When I was at secondary school, everyone walked. And wool isn’t polyester. My DD, now an adult, also walked or took the tube. Clothes get washed once a week at my house. Different school shirts every day, but the skirt would last a week, barring accidents. Similarly, the blazer, which was polyester. Blazers are expensive, so no one would have more than one of those.

Blazers are polyester now.
Least all of the ones I've had to buy are.

I always buy 2 because one they start ti smell they seem to hold on to it.

Absolute madness. I thought the whole point of a uniform was equality, so poorer kids don't stick out? The uniforms I'm hearing about here make a mockery of that idea.

DD just started secondary, uniform is plain black skirt or trousers, plain black cardigan or jumper with shirt and toe or school branded polo shirt. So easy and cheap.

What I Fail to understand is that when you go to work, if you're required to wear a branded or specific uniform, the company pays for it. In healthcare it is usually company pays for first 2-4 depending how many shifts you do, and any extras you pay for.

In things like hospitality or office work where the uniform is quite simple (plain shirt and plain black trousers) you buy it quite cheaply.

Why are parents expected to fork out £33 per primary school jumper (that lasts one term or one school year!) Or £40 per secondary school skirt? Personally I think if it means that much to the school that the children all wear a very specific branded uniform, the school should pay for it.

No, I don't remember my school bus smelling, DS walked. If it does then it would be shirts, which often smell after a day, not trousers or skirts. I think most people in day to day life wash certain items like trousers and jumpers too often rather than not often enough.

The previous head of my son's partially selective comprehensive school used an expensive - (in his words unique) school uniform to deter low income families from applying. He actually said that at the open day, and it did deter some families from applying - if not just for the man's attitude.

One pullover with embroidered log - £35 for smallest size - costs rising per size.
Need - Football shirt, rugby shirt, athletic shirt - all £35 for smallest size.

School blazer - £85 for the smallest size. Most 11+ year olds would need the £100 size.

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My daughter in comparison at a comprehensive school with a more understanding head teacher.

Black blazer bought from anywhere - just sew on the school badge. At the time bought one from BHS for about £20.

School log not needed on jumpers and PE kit. PE kit from school suppliers reasonable cost. Jumpers, blouses, skirts, etc from supermarket.

Some school heads are out of touch with reality.

At secondary my daughter had one skirt and a few pairs of trousers from New Look. Most of the girls preferred trousers tbh as the skirts were pretty unattractive (which is the point I know!)

My dds skirts for secondary ( starts this September) are £45 each and the shirts are £10 each. It’s Shocking and I’m bloody outraged .

Getting away with just one skirt:

DD learned to do it herself. Coming back home at 4, changing, putting skirt into the washing machine on short programm and hanging it up properly = skirt dry the next morning. Same with her school trousers which does need a mid-week wash.

I am more miffed with the fact that both the jumper and the shirts are polycotton and just stink after a day. I bought 3 jumpers and 5 shirts to survive the week as the jumpers are thick and do take longer to dry.

A fool and their money.

Our school trousers has the logo embroided on it, so no going to any other shop than the offical supplier.

At least it comes in two different shapes and a varitey of waist and length, DD actually looks awesome in it, suits her a lot better than the kilt.

The head actually listened to the girls saying they all have different body shapes and need different styles.

I agree that state shools should only be able to specify style and colour so that you can but where you want to. - Although the post about how durable the skirts were between two daughters progressing through a school makes a fair point about sustainability.
No second hand unuform options available?

But why on earth does OPs daughter need three skirts?

I agree stupidly expensive, but my DD has just finished Year 11, and an awful lot of the girls (dull thread on parents' FB chat) have had just one skirt during their whole 5 years (with a lot of the rest of the rest having just 2) so if you consider the cost per number of wears long term it doesn't seem too bad.
not like boys who grow out of trousers in about 6 weeks

'How do you cope with 1.
I work evenings and all day Sunday. I have to do my washing during the day.
Sometimes I get 3 or 4 evenings in a row and there's no way my kids are going to school in a polyester skirt thats hot and sweaty and only washed once
How smelly and embarrassing for the child.'

My DS hasn't ever made his trousers sweaty/smelly, but he's been known to put his knee through them so we always have two pairs. I draw the line at sending him in with his knee put through 😀

'How do you cope with 1.
I work evenings and all day Sunday. I have to do my washing during the day.
Sometimes I get 3 or 4 evenings in a row and there's no way my kids are going to school in a polyester skirt thats hot and sweaty and only washed once
How smelly and embarrassing for the child.'

Other than in very hot weather, a skirt really doesn't get hot and sweaty that quickly. Shirts- yes. But skirts? Particularly when they were tights and shorts under them so they don't even come into much contact with skin.

And if your child does need clothes washing more frequently, perhaps it's a good idea to teach them how to use the washing machine?

Do they really need 3 skirts, mine had 1 which retailed at £36 in 2094

2004

We’ve just spent over £300 on 3 primary aged uniforms, not including shoes and trainers. I didn’t even get any spares. No second hand available as the school no longer keeps any.

Dreading high school, I priced up uniform for my oldest starting high school next year and it was £280 just for the basic logo’d stuff not including and sports kits for my extremely sporty child.

My girls only had one skirt each (private school so expensive). Why does anyone need three?

My DD school skirt is a kilt for £53

I bought 1 plus a spare from the 2nd hand sale