Private school - uniform cost

[FrancyFancy]

I'll start by saying its 50/50 as to if my son will actually go to a private school, we haven't decided yet.
This morning I was at the local play park with my DS (2) he befriended a little girl. I got talking to her mum, I'm pretty new to the area and don't know anyone local yet.
Was asking about schools, her DD is due to start at one of the several independent prep schools, my son is registered for this school (doesn't guarantee a place). It has a distinctive very sweet uniform, which I mentioned, she told me it was £1500 including shoes etc. She said if you didn't buy as many duplicates you could probably get it down to £1000.
I had a look on the suppliers website, blazer (for all years including Kindergarten(equivalent of Reception) was £110, the duffel coat/winter coat, £130, hats at nearly £40 each (girls need summer and winter). Then a full games uniform, with its own coat costing another £40, summer dresses nearing £40, pinafores over that. Blouses £22-£26 depending on sleeve length/size
Seems like for boys it would be a lot less but still stupidly expensive.

AIBU to think this is totally ridiculous??

Private school parents - Is this the norm? If not how much do you spend? Has the uniform costs put anyone else off of private?

I’ve only got my local schools to go by but one academy has the most ridiculous uniform requirements for a state school. Trousers must be bought from one supplier via school as they have a five pence sized logo embroidered on them. Ditto blazers (although I have read about people snipping off the pocket and attaching it to a supermarket blazer when they need to size up). The local private school has its own uniform shop but the person who runs it actually down sells everything. Oh you don’t need three jumpers, two will do. The jumpers M&S sell are virtually the same but cheaper and no one will notice etc… plus a second hand rail. Sports wear for team sports on the pricey side though I’ll admit.

Completely not the norm. Ours us cheaper than some local state schools, plus you can get it easily second hand.
We have blazer (buy second hand for £50, will resell for the same), school coat (£25, the same), jumper (£20), pe kit (£60 all in).
All absolutely indestructible so will be in good state afterwards. Our current set has been owned by 3 kids before, and will do at least as many again.
Trousers, shirts etc are supermarket.
So a bit more expensive at the start, but a lot cheaper in the long run.
One local state school (faith) has £100 blazers…

That seems high although I can believe some schools do have uniforms that expensive. Ours allows both girls and boys to wear standard school uniform grey trousers from any supplier so I use Next and they’re 16 a pair. There’s no formal coat or hats and the tracksuit jacket is waterproof so that doubles up. Blazers are expensive and often the second hand ones are tatty but everything else I try the second hand shop first or buy from friends whose DC have grown out of them and sell mine on as well. I also have 2 dc so can hand down to the youngest for the unisex stuff which is most of it.

Surely £1000 isn’t a lot compared to the fees? Youngest DC is 8 and I remember over a thousand a month for full time nursery. Reception is similar to nursery cost so this is just a months school fee.

I think I spent £800 on everything needed. DD has OCD/sensory issues and won't wear second hand or clothes that have been washed in anything other than what we use as she says they smell and feel different.

The initial outlay was about £600 but we've added stuff when she's lost it or needed extra sets or a certain league shirt for games

Absolute minimum at my son's independent school is £600 and that's not really enough unless you wash every day

It’s the norm. Our school recently ‘allowed’ us to buy shirts from M&S as they are plain white but the rest is similarly priced to what you mentioned, blazer up to £120 this year….

That sounds a lot. For prep I would get two pinafores, two cardigans, five blouses, PE kit plus duffle coat. We had a thriving second hand shop and I never bought a new blazer as they were only worn in Summer and only to and from school.

For secondary school £600+ for year 7 from memory but the uniform washed well and I didn't need to replace everything each year. My DD still uses some of her PE kit at uni so it has obviously lasted plus lots did use the second hand shop.

That seems insane to me. You could have a family holiday for that!

DS’s full (unbranded, M&S) uniform - 4 polos, 2 jumpers (have a third, hand me down logo one as well form a neighbour), 2 trousers, 2 shorts, school shoes, new pants and socks, and PE kit (again, got lucky with a hand me down logo T-shirt), was less than £100!

We considered independent as we might just have been able to scrabble together the fees but it’s all the extras that would make it totally inaccessible!

As other PP have alluded to, if the school is attracting parents who want to send their children to private for cute uniform or exclusivity, they can get away with fancy expensive uniforms. Same applies for parents who buy endless quantities of uniform (why would you need 4 pinafores when wearing PE kit for two days each week?!)

Our prep also has the expensive dresses if you have a daughter but fortunately jumpers are just marginally more than state school branded ones and boys trousers and shirts can be purchased anywhere. While PE kit costs more than unbranded, it is not in the leagues mentioned here. Blazers and school coats cost under £50 and parents are only too happy to pass things around to others plus school sell second hand items for small charity donation (DC is 6th owner of some of their PE kit and still in great condition). This is generally a reflection of the parent demographic - they would not be willing to spend excess on cuteness or exclusivity.

I have 2 DC at the school and can say with certainty I’ve spent less than £400 kitting out both children on uniform to date.

No that's absolutely not the norm. DS starts at an independent prep this year, we ended up buying his entire uniform from the uniform shop even though technically the shirts and shorts / trousers do not have logos and can therefore be bought elsewhere, but for the sake of a few £ I simply couldn't be bothered. I bought enough uniform for him to wear new every day (so I only have to wash once a week) Including the usual as well as blazer, duffle coat etc, summer and winter hats, logo book bag, logo water bottle, all name tags, 2 x PE kit, swimwear and towel, but not shoes - it came to £500. Probably could've got it for £450ish if we had got the shorts / shirts elsewhere though. Even that I thought was a bit steep! But we will have 3 boys at the school so I fully intend to pass the expensive stuff down to his younger siblings. £1500 is absolutely horrifying

DD's primary uniform had mandatory coat/hats but many people used the second hand shop at the school. The shop was always well stocked and, because the coats and blazers were hard wearing many went there still looking in good condition. I suspect some items had been used by several children in the end. You could donate uniform to the shop - you got a percentage of the sale price if it sold.

We used to be able to get everything online or via JL,, though specific uniform supplier if we wanted new.

It didn't come to that amount though, even with PE kit, ballet kit, etc. it wasn't cheap but I guess it's part and parcel of choosing a specific school.

Around £900 each, excluding footwear. I usually buy trousers, shirts and socks from M&S, as they’re excellent quality and wash well. Everything else is from the school uniform shop.

You could significantly reduce that by using the second hand shop (usually run by the PTA).

Our school requires black leather school shoes, normal trainers to wear at playtime, white trainers for sports, wellies for forest school and football boots. So it’s 5 pairs of school shoes each!! Plus we need extra trainers and wellies for home, as the ones for school use stay there during term time 🤦🏼‍♀️

Not quite that for my DC’s prep, no. But think it was definitely around the £1100 mark excluding shoes and cricket kit.

My kids are in private school. We can get generic trousers and shirts. The only thing we have to buy through school is a blazer, jumper, pe top, pe jumper, tie, cap and coat. Most of It can be brought bigger so it lasts for longer. A lot of people come and go so you can always get bits for cheaper then they are. And things like the tie and blazer last. We have needed a bigger blazer this year but haven't brought one since year one. He will be in year 4 when he returns. Plus a new pe top as he had grown out of his other one. The rest we buy in the sales and go one size up so will last.

Meant to say this is primary school. Mostly cost a couple of hundred no where near 1100 that seems very extravagant

Of course it's totally ridiculous but they make it so expensive for a reason. They don't want any lower middle class riff raff who can just about afford the fees getting in. Because it's not just the fees, it's all the extras as well and they make sure these all add up. A lot.

Well now I feel victimised 😂😂😂

DD was at a very well known home counties prep and uniform did cost that much new, however there was a fabulous second hand uniform shop in the school which her granny volunteered in so we got everything very reasonably and granny sorted it all! We also would get given hand me downs from friends older daughters.

I remember the cape (yes, cape) cost £130 new six years ago so goodness knows what it would be now!

This is the norm for private school. Summer uniform, winter uniform, lots of sports kit and everything to be from the specific supplier. You won’t have to buy everything each year, buts it’s easily £1k to buy the initial collection (once past the nursery stage).

If you sign up for private school, you’re agreeing to basically any cost they throw your way. Numerous school trips ‘added to next term’s fees’. We just got a letter saying all Y7’s need a laptop or tablet for September.

The costs only start with the fees.

It’s normal uniform prices but my kids are at a public school and absolutely everybody dives in at the second hand sales and also on the WhatsApp groups things are always being given away. So: yes huge outlay for the first year and it will hopefully be the only time you have to fork out that much.

Lots of people saying this is the norm for uniform costs when other posters have literally said that they've kitted out their DC for £200 or so so it isn't the 'norm'.
It's normal in SOME private schools. It's like any post on MN about private schools. Someone asks about fees and there's a pile on about how you should expect to pay £30k a year with a 1000% annual increase. In SOME private schools, yes.

Where I am the annual fees are half that, uniform is half M&S, half thrift shop and trips aren't compulsory. Still expensive, still a privilege but not all private schools are the same!

2 kids in private (secondary) in the SE. They moved school this year so I had to start again and I got everything on the uniform list except (for one thing) for £160 for the two of them at the second hand sale.

There is always more PE kit than normal day wear. You do not need to buy duplicates - just be prepared to do a 30 minute wash a few evenings a week.

it was roughly the same in their last school. Maybe a little more. The second hand sale is an absolute must (and also where you will find the more rational parents…).

There is an enormous difference between the uniform list and what they actually NEED.

This is so true. My 15 yo dd is wearing her friend’s age 10 skort rather than the ladies size 10 skort I bought. A friend, who has moved school gave her a now defunct netball top, another friend a defunct PE top. Dd likes these 3 items better than the shiny, new stuff I bought her when she joined the school a couple of years ago. The school has changed suppliers so you can’t buy any of this kit anymore but the PE teachers still tolerate the girls wearing it. This gives her a real sense of belonging, I think.

Not really your question, but I’d be kicking up a right fuss if I was at a school where the girl’s uniform cost significantly more than the boys. That’s not on.