To think school uniform is too expensive?

[Loveheart1133]

Secondary school is going to cost in excess of £200.

That’s just for one child. That’s for 2 sweatshirts, 1 full PE kit, tie, 2 x trousers, 5 x shirts, shoes, stationery.

The £200 is not including school bag, coat, trainers for PE.

I know that the government were supposed to be making new rules about limiting the number of branded items. But as far as I can tell the school require logo jumpers, PE kits which consists of shorts, top, socks, and tracksuit. Plus Summer polo top.

I’m lucky in that I do have the money, but I can imagine for some families especially with 2 or more children it’s completely unaffordable.

Items get lost despite being labelled never to be seen again.

I know people will say they get a lot of use out of them etc etc but honestly I begrudge paying all that money for polyester clothing to dress my child like a mini adult going to work in a bank.

Isn’t it about time that uniform has an overhaul and was actually comfortable and affordable.

Yes but it’s irrelevant really.

There’ll always be daft, irresponsible people around. People who have their priorities wrong.

But that doesn’t change the fact that school uniform, especially secondary uniform can be VERY overpriced, with unnecessary items that are poor quality.

There are schools doing it right. The school ds went to has barely had to change their uniform. As long as they have one branded PE polo short the rest of the kit is just plain black or navy sportswear as long as it doesn;t have massive brand names across (small Nike tick at the hip is fine, massive Nike tick all up the side of leggings is not.) The school in the next town has allowed their students to wear black air force style trainers as school shoes for years.

With things like free bundles on facebook/charity shops and vinted it's possible to clothe your children really cheaply or even for free. I don't think I've spent over £15 a year for years now for two of my children. My child with sensory needs probably more but not much.

To suddenly have to spend hundreds on compulsory uniform thats expensive inadequate and uncomfortable is rubbish. its definitely not as easy to get secondary school uniform secondhand either so no option but to buy new. They all love this get around of saying things aren't compulsory but it's either logo one or no jumper In winter then🙄

I also don't t know anyone as a adult wearing a shirt tie and blazer in their professional job in the same fabric as the schools use. I also don't know anyone who grew up with no uniform who then couldn't proceed into a job with one because they didn't have the years of training at school to wear uncomfortable clothes 🤔

Must say I thought it very sensible of the Gdcs’ primary to specify no brand logos on PE kit - plain black shorts and white polo shirts only.

I think a lot of you are spot on in what you’re saying.

Uniform could be cheaper and simpler.

There really isn’t any need for blazers and ties.

Is there a single benefit of wearing a horrible polyester blazer to school?

I actually think secondary school uniforms are cheap. Most items are unbranded so can be purchased in supermarkets etc, eg pack 3 non iron shirts for a tenner etc. even the blazer was only £30. Blazer and pe shirts lasted a few years before growing out of.

Daughter is starting reception. Ive had to buy logo cardigains, tie, pe kit (logo tshirt and specific shorts) then chose to buy a logo book bag, pe bag, and pe hoody so she wasnt left out. It was around £90 from the school shop and I only got 2 cardigains. Then more money on the non logo bits. It is expensive and im hoping the bags and pe kit last at least a few years to justify the cost.

Blazers should be scrapped. I wore one in the 90s for year 7-9 and we all stank all summer (short sleeved shirts were allowed but we had to wear the blazer if not in a classroom). As hormonal teenagers it was a lovely aroma of sweat with a hint of Impulse/Lynx.
For year 10 and 11 it was anything black (jumper/cardigan) with any black trousers or skirt, white shirt and tie. Far more sensible.

I genuinely think a 4 year old in a tie is madness!

£200 for all that stuff doesn't seem too bad to me

Personally I don’t agree with school uniforms having grown up in a country without them. Except when I went to private school and wore one so I have experienced both.

All the reasons people point out I never experienced……and to add with less testing and the highest educated country in the western world it was fine. I am suited and booted for work so know how to dress appropriately for the working world.

IMO you buy twice here - you can’t wear uniforms on the weekend. not can you wear school shoes to run around on the weekend.

However my kids are in the UK and the uniforms are cheap, nasty material often without good wear. I think the best schools limit the branded clothes and let you buy elsewhere.

I think it’s outdated and needs to be changed.

Me too. Considering their nursery uniform last year was a logo polo and jumper/cardigain its a huge jump to formal uniform. Ive seen their nursery uniform also includes ties this year which is ridiculous for 3 year olds.
It was the only thing we disliked about the school though so will put up with it for all the other benefits she will get from going there.

My DS likes the blazer because it has something like a million pockets. In fact he complained when they relaxed the uniform in the heat and he didn’t have to wear it.

Even my dc their secondary is any black shoes and trousers but must have logo polo nd proffered logo jumper,
x3 polos and one logo jumper cost close to £100…
then the trousers ok these can be school trousers or joggers which is fine
shoes - school shoes would normally cost £30 max but because they can wear whatever as long as it’s black teenagers are going to want the latest trainers that could be up to £200 a pair!

I am suited and booted for work so know how to dress appropriately for the working world. Sorry did I misunderstand - you think you couldn't have figured how to dress for work had you not worn a uniform?
It often gets mentioned that wearing uniform for 14 years teaches kids how to dress for work, I have higher expectations of their learning ability than to think it would take 14 years to learn such a low grade skill. Both my kids have professional jobs - they dress for their day, now where was the training for that?😉

Isn't it ironic that the schools have a no labels/no brands rule whilst insisting on school branded uniform.
When my kids went to school they had no clue about branding (visible branding is not really my style) - till it was pointed out to them by other kids that they weren't wearing the branded school polo shirt. Such an equaliser isn't it.

My eldest keeps his pens, keys, phone, debit card, train ticket etc in his blazer pocket. In case his bag gets stolen.
It’s useful in spring / autumn when a coat isn’t needed but there’s a chill in the air.
It’s no different to wearing a suit.

You're clearly quoting me here.

I work full time as does dp, we have a toddler and DD who is starting secondary school. I do a lot of loads of washing, work stuff etc dp is a tradesman so is filthy all of the time, DD is an outdoor kid so is also filthy most days, I work shifts often starting mid afternoon until very late and weekends all day. Life is extremely busy and it's just us, we have no family to rely on for any sort of free time or babysitting. I do a load of washing every day I am able to, sometimes I do 6 loads in one day if I don't have time during the week and then there's the drying. We can't always use the tumble dryer and apart from recent months with the heatwaves this year, it usually rains A LOT. Drying clothes takes time.

She has enough uniform for me not to have to worry about the washing or drying of clothes, if I've put a load on but hers isn't in there for whatever reason etc etc. She also has growing room in everything I've bought so I won't need to replace even though she's growing quickly.

I don't really have to explain myself for having multiple pairs of trousers and shirts etc but there we go. It still doesn't change the fact that having to buy branded items that are £20-£30 each is ridiculous and we shouldn't have to do that. Lots of people can't buy the basics.

If you are doing PE the exercise should be keeping you warm. You don't see football players running around in full tracksuits during a game

My brother developed pleurisy this way and still has holes in his lungs and a collapsed lung related to this 20 years later. Kids aren't always moving during PE outside, there can be long periods of them standing around waiting their turn for example. They have the right to be warm.

Yep this was me last year. Luckily I have a credit union account and their loans are very low interest and come straight out of my wages so I dont miss the money. Luckily this year it's just been a pack of 2 blouses as everything else still fits. When moving to secondary you have to expect a big initial outlay

Hilarious!! Do you think what professional footballers wear during matches is really comparable to what 12 year olds wear for PE lessons?

Amazing logic - go have a lie down, all that thinking must have exhausted you.

Here’s a thought, have you watched a professional warm up - I’m not exactly a fan but even I have observed they start off a training session wearing more than shorts and t shirt and discard clothing as they warm up. I bet the PE teachers are wearing more than shorts and t shirts too.

I don’t understand the argument about uniform preparing them for work either. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp, employer tells you what the uniform/dress code is, you follow it. If there is a specific uniform, they often provide it for you so you really can’t go wrong. Many countries have no school uniform at all and manage to grasp this concept perfectly well, because it’s very simple to understand and you will simply be sacked if you don’t follow the requirements. People need jobs, so they do it.

The traditional secondary uniform of shirt, tie and blazer isn’t even an accurate reflection of uniform in the real world, no manual job will ever have you wearing anything like that and many more formal jobs have done away with ties and blazers. Primary schools usually aren’t so bad with their polo shirts and jumpers and fewer branding requirements (generally speaking I know outliers exist). I think that sort of uniform should be the norm across the board. Relax the shoe rules too, have them be black and no high heels etc but does it really matter if they vaguely resemble a trainer or are trainers?

I feel like sometimes schools end up having all these uniform rules that they then have to spend time upholding, if they simplified things a bit they wouldn’t need to constantly police socks, shoes, shirts being tucked in, ties being worn correctly. The kids would probably feel less ‘nagged’ staff-pupil relationships might improve and there’s more time for actual learning and constructive things.

Tell me you know nothing about either school PE or professional athletes without telling me. My daughter is a sports science student and ex pro.

No, football players don't wear tracksuits during a game (although I have seen plenty wearing base layers in winter. But they all wear them during warm ups or when they are sitting on the subs bench waiting to go on. The large majority of a PE lesson is warm ups, excercises, training drills, waiting your turn. Warm up layers help prevent injuries Very little will b eb actually playing/practising a sport.