£420 a year on school uniform?

[weareallout]

Just heard that i£420 is average on the news. Our high is no where near.
£40 blazer / lasts more than 1 year
£5 tie
£10-20 jumper
£10 PE top of £5 non logo
Any black shorts and trainers.
Black trousers and white shirts

I’d say i spend about £300-400 all in depending on if it’s a blazer year or not.
4 shirts/2 polos
5 skirts/pinafores
3 cardigans
5shorts
pants
tights (up to here is about £150)
1 hoodie
socks
jacket and blazer
shoes
sandshoes
Summer dresses

Then there’s the school bag, lunchbox, pencil case and stationery.
In fairness not everyone buys a change per day but works for me and then wash/iron all at the same time at the weekend and always lasts the full year. My little one is in Lelli Kelly’s and has Smiggle bags (always bought in the sale after Christmas but still expensive!). There are cuts that could be made but I can see how it reaches that amount for some.

I’ll be paying about £300 for secondary and about £100 for primary.

It can cost a fortune. I’m looking for second-hand uniform for the logo-ed pieces and hoping to get any plain bits from the supermarkets, but even then it all adds up.

Sounds about right to me.

Not everyone is able to buy supermarket uniform.
I have two pre-teen boys who are growing like weeds and since September have had 5 pairs of shoes between them, which aren’t cheap as they’re now in men’s sizes.

When they go back in September, I will need to buy pretty much all new uniforms for them apart from their blazers, so that will come upto at least £400.

When DC were at a private school, I easily reached that. Blazer was around £80 (a number of years ago), sports kit for football/rugby, another lot of kit for cricket. But most people did buy larger blazers that would see them through a few years.

Then the shoe requirement - proper school shoes, trainers (to be left at school for breaks) football boots, rugby boots (until I got wise and found ones with studs that could be used for both- school not entirely happy about it though), cricket shoes....

But also needing trainers and football boots for home - because they came home in the school bus and if they had left shoes at school no way of getting them to use on the weekend.

Although their state school uniform in Australia is still pricy, but they don't need as many variations.

I can see how it could get up to that. One of the schools round here (a bog standard school - nothing fancy) has £90 blazers, £35 trousers in a specific shade of grey and £30 jumpers.

You could easily hit £400 for that by the time you add in shirts, shoes, PE equipment and the likes

So glad I don't have to deal with a uniform.

5 skirts AND 5 shorts? And only lasts one school year? Yikes.

And what on earth are sandshoes?

Yep, she plays in the forest at school so always comes home filthy. Wears shorts every day under her skirt because she can’t walk 5 steps without doing a cart wheel! I hand what’s in good condition into the school for the uniform bank but she grows out of them and needs a size up.
Sandshoes like soft indoor shoes… maybe plimsoles?

2 logo'd jumpers £40
5 logo'd t shirts £75
2 kilts £56
1 pair ladies' black trousers for period weeks £25
tights X 3 £10
socks £6
PE jumper £25
2 X technical PE t shirts (indoor and outdoor colours) £40
logo'd PE leggings £28
school shoes £60
trainers £25
Decathlon branded studs (essential for 6 lessons a year in hockey) £15

Total £405 ish. Normal state school with jumpers and polos, but we buy a bit more than the minimum. My child is easy on her clothes.

Amazing how it adds up. I think girls tend to be more expensive than boys, and I maintain that logo'd polos and jumpers work out more expensive than blazers and ties. But the fortune we have to spend on PE kit for them to spend 15 mins getting changed and half an hour doing benchball is ridiculous.

Ours is going to be about £350
1x blazer £40*
2x skirts £50*
4× shirts £30*
Thankfully no tie

2x pe tops £40*
1× pe shorts £15*
1× pe socks £10*
1 × pe trousers £18*
1× pe hoodie £20*

Bag £25
Shoes £40
Trainers £40
Tights £10

Total £340

The indicates that I have to buy the specific school supplier item. Any without an I can buy from where ever I like as long as it meets the dress code (unbranded, dark etc)

I've not included a coat as I know she won't wear it, but given that it has to be plain black or navy, if she did want one I'd need to probably pay out £30 for that as her current coats are not the right colour.

Then there's calculator, stationery, etc too which I won't count as this will span more than one year.

I'd say its rare that anyone will get more than 1 school year out of a blazer.

Sounds about right for our secondary school. Blazer, 5 shirts, tie, 2 skirts, 2 trousers, socks, tights and shoes comes to about £220. Then the PE kits with 2 different tops, shorts, joggers, socks, trainers and football boots is about £180. Bag and PE bag another £40

For last September my daughter only needed some things, probably cost about £200.

Primary school was cheaper, maybe £150 for everything.

Still cheaper (and easier!) than not having uniform imo.

Most students would have several of each item - shirts, jumpers, trousers - not just one. Add in the blazer, jacket, shoes, PE uniform, bag, stationery, it's going to creep up towards £3/400. All uniform should be standard with just the tie and blazer badge discrete to the school. Everything should be available in supermarkets and department stores, none of these uniform providers, or purchasing from the school (except tie/badge).

Blazer... £25
2 x skirts... £54
3× blouse... £15
Tie... £5
Socks... £5
Tights... £10
... £114

Pe tshirt... £10
Pe skort... £10
Pe jumper... £15
Pe leggings... £10
Pe socks... £6
Shin pads £7
... £58

Shoes... £35
Trainers.. £35
Football boots £40
...£110

Coat... £40
Bag... £20
Stationary... £30
Calculator..£20
...£110

Total... £394

I considered that relatively cheap for starting Secondary. This year it will probably be less than £100.

Ds needs new shoes (£50), trainers (£40), rugby boots (£25), 2pairs trousers (£40) and blazer (£100) every year.

shirts, pe shirt, PE shorts, running leggings. Swimming trunks, sweaters, socks, sports socks, every two years.

By the time he's put his knee through his trousers a couple of times, yes £400 a year is normal for us.

Pe uniform for school alone is £ 105, he lost the bloody top and i had to buy a full uniform again as they don't do top and bottom separate and because it is crested you cannot buy it from supermarket, I can only buy the shirts and trousers there. Crested jumper is £ 45, need 2, tie is £12

My DD is in year 9 and has had the same blazer, skirt and jumper since year 7. I’m hoping they will last until year 11.

Ours isnt but then we don't have blazers at our high school, which seems unusual according to mumsnet. It's a tiny rural high school though. Jumpers are £25 each. PE tops about £15 I think. Shoes and football boots are what costs the most, especially the way my DS feet grow!.

Not being able to buy the top separately is bloody ridiculous!

That must sting quite a few parents every year.

Sounds about right. I was chuffed last year that I got twins both kitted out for £80 as it was all second hand including shoes. This is for secondary. For new it came to around £300 per child and I have three...
They need shoes: min £50 from Clarks X3 £150
Blazer £40x3: £120
School p.e shorts £10 X3: £30
School pe jumper £20 X3: £60
School tie: 5 x3
So that's £125 on necessaries before you get to trousers,shirts, socks, bags, equipment, lunch box/drinks bottles etc.

I'm pretty shocked...cost me £6 this year. New socks £6. Still using school cardigan, same dresses, same pe kit although she had outgrown it so popped along to the boxes in reception as they sent an. Email been sent saying lots been donated from children outgrown and got next size up. I donated her bits she outgrown for year below. All the parents did the same this year. Just primary school though.

So for 1 child going into Y9..
Shoes approx 70
Bag approx 50
Blazer 40
Shirts 40 (they're specific school ones)
Jumpers 50 (25 each, school ones)
Skirts 30
Socks and tights 30ish
PE kit 40

Ours is easily less than £50 and can all be bought from ASDA etc

Black trousers / skirt or shorts
Black jumper
White shirt
Black shoes
Tue

Blazers are only for S6

£420 is obscene

Ours could easily be that, especially if you buy everything listed on the "compulsory uniform" list. Half of which they never wear. Sadly DS1 was the first cohort into his school so we didn't know half the compulsory stuff was not needed at all.

Reading an article online, its £420 for Secondary school. Its definitely Secondary school it adds up!

My Primary school child its just £30 for shoes, £15 fkr skirts/trousers £10 for cardigan and £15 for blouses. £10 for PE kit. All from supermarket and I just replace as needed not at a specific time.

My son had a large growth spurt in year 10,I had to.get him.a new blazer at the start of year 11 wss not impressed🙄