AIBU to buy unbranded PE shorts for Year 11?

[ZestyDog]

DD is about to go into year 11.
They do PE once a week, which will probably stop altogether after the February half term as they go into GCSE revision mode.
She's grown out of her PE shorts, and as they are school colours and branded they are to buy new £22.99.
I've asked the uniform banks, asked on the school facebook pages and local selling pages, I've checked everywhere to see if anyone has a pair in her size for cheap, but there just aren't any.
So, I've bought her a basic pair for £4 in the main school colour.
For reference DD does not give a shiny shit about her shorts. She's not the sort of kid to be bothered about being different, so that's not a problem.

So, AIBU not to buy the shorts? Money is a bit of an issue for us, so spending so much on something that won't be worn more than a few times is a waste, and second hand ones go for no more than £2-3.

They don’t stop doing PE.

Of course not
Unless its a school with ridiculous over the top rules about uniform and she will get in trouble?

Branded school uniforms drive me up the wall.

My dds school is the same. Branded everything (even the shirts are a funny design you can’t just buy in a shop), and can only be bought from one specific shop.

Shes only going into year 8, so she’s terrified of getting order marks so I have to buy the stuff, but in your situation, I wouldn’t be spending out on the school item either.

I wish schools would stop this. But a lot of them and some parents thinks it makes the school a cut above somehow by having over priced uniform (dds school is a super selective grammar, it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to the schools stats if we could buy everything from Asda).

Sorry for the rant, I’ve just had to replace two jumpers and a pair of school trousers this year and those three things alone set me back £85 (had to edit, I’ve just seen the receipt 😭)

My kids school would make them wear a spare pair rather than have non logo shorts. It depends how strict they are really.

You are aware they can only require 3 branded items in total plus tie unless it's a private school. This is the law from September

It's not even a naice school, a basic high school in a not brilliant area. They are fairly strict around uniform, however £22.99 for a pair of shorts is expensive. For reference the local posh fee paying school has a cheaper PE shorts. (Plain, school colour, cost £12.99)
My kids have always been instructed to refer the teacher back to me in case of uniform/equipment issues, so DD will just tell the teacher to contact me. I'll ensure she doesn't get into trouble. I've made the decision not her.
But really she doesn't care (She's clever and never gets in trouble, all the teachers love her, but has the heart of a rebel)

Because the logo mskes all rhe difference in how they perform in PE?
Is it an acadamy school ? The ones near me are really strict about uniform .

It is part of an academy but it’s run more like a single school.

I thought I’d read somewhere that there’s a loophole for branded PE kit. As in the rules around the number of logo’d uniform items doesn’t include PE kit.

Our school has changed to plain black PE shorts for this reason. I don’t think PE kit is separate.

My child’s school (grammar, not private), seem to get around that by requiring designs that you can’t get anywhere bar a specialist supplier.

Shirts are an unusual colour with a v neck design, skirts have a front pleat that you cannot get elsewhere, the trousers have a pleat design on. Even the jumpers wouldn’t help if they weren’t branded as they are in a colour you can’t just buy in Tesco. Compulsory blazers. The PE kit is designed for the sports with different layers and designs (skorts etc).

I think lots of parents have complained but are told there is a waiting list for the school, you can go elsewhere.

I would give her a note for the teacher explaining that it is you that has made the sorts decision for cost purposes, and making it clear that you do not want her to be in trouble for it. If they really have a problem with it, they might send some school shorts home (schools often have uniform donated or an overflowing box of unclaimed lost and found) but as long as they're just plain supermarket ones not fashion related, they probably have bigger issues to deal with.

@flakyfox I'm sorry they are breaking law it specifically says that items must be generally available so unusual colours etc are against the spirit of law I would get MP involved etc but a letter quoting legislation to governors and a willingness to take further. However I appreciate your child may not want you to do this . It's awful trying to exclude children based on unaffordable special uniform

Will she get into trouble for not having the correct items? All very well to say refer to you, but she's the one in the firing line.
Does she actually wear shorts? (Asking as I know 90% of the girls' at DC's school wear leggings for PE regardless of temperature).

Have you tried friends with older siblings who've now finished Year11?

No, it does include PE kit. They can have three items of branded uniform and PE kit, plus a branded tie if ties are part of the uniform.

They give free uniforms to those on free school meals (and have to take in a percentage of FSM children with a lower pass mark). So they say they are not excluding anyone. And it’s a choice to go there, “other schools are available, we have a long waiting list” was apparently a quote from the head a few years ago 🙄

I don’t know any grammar that doesn’t have a specialist supplier for uniform, or who have generic uniforms. It was always a thing, even when I was at one 30 odd years ago.

My DS did PE once or twice the whole of year 11 so unless she’s doing GCSE PE (doesn’t sound like it), she’ll barely do it and new logo ones would be a waste.

They’re breaking the rules.

”Branded items also include any item that, due to its colour, design, fabric or other distinctive characteristic, is only available from the school’s or trust’s appointed uniform supplier(s)”

and

”If the specified item cannot be purchased at a range of retailers, it is likely to be a branded item”

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms

Was going to say the same

Belive me, I know.

It’s the blazer (can be a blazer or a tie as one of the items)
the skirt OR trousers (it’s a girls school)
the shirt
the jumper.

The PE uniform they have said you can buy a dark blue polo shirt (you’d have to get one online, I’ve never seen a navy blue one in a supermarket), and nany blue joggers.

BUT they are still selling the branded PE things in the school supply shop and most people buy it as they want it.

So the girls who don’t have it are left out and plain navy is very different to the branded fancy pants PE kit, so they are still very much under pressure to fit in. Dd really feels it as she competes for the school in a couple of sports. She’s on the hockey team and they all want to wear the skorts, for example. She wouldn’t want to continue if I don’t buy those as children are cruel and lots of the other girls who go there are extremely well off and have everything branded.

And it’s the cost too. Schools are supposed to speak to the suppliers - yeah, right.

A jumper is £25. The blazer is £75. The trousers are £35. The shirts are £22.50. it all adds up.

A lot of the parents who send their children there like the exclusive aspect of the school. So they don’t want their children in generic uniform. They want them to stand out so everyone can see they go there (and so do many of the children). It’s like a badge of honour going to that particular school.

I don't have friends who have had kids at this school, or at least not recently. I've tried the school, they run a uniform bank, I've tried the local uniform bank, I've asked on the parents groups, and checked local selling sites. There's non in her size free or cheap. (and she's a perfectly average size, there's just doesn't seem to be much in the way of PE kit at all, only the very small sizes) My only option is a brand new pair, and I'm not willing to pay the price. If school can suddenly magic up a pair, all well and good.
She's really not bothered if she gets told off about the shorts. She's happy to politely stand up for herself and say it's my decision. I'm happy to contact the school. I'll probably give her a note.
It's not an academy, just a normal high school. They're not allowed leggings/tracksuit bottoms.
The only branded items are tie, blazer, pe top and shorts and an optional PE hoodie

She doesn't compete in sports, School sports aren't her thing, she's more interested in running. They don't do much of that there, plus it's usually only done in the term before summer holidays.
She already doesn't "fit in". She's got loads of friends and everyone likes her, but she marches to the beat of her own drum. Being different is something she embraces. She's not at all like a typical 15 year old. She's awesome and gives no fucks what anyone thinks about her shorts.😂

That's crazy. In my day we only had branded blazers and school colour ties.

I would definitely send her in the non branded shorts.

Our school wouldn’t allow it on paper, but I have seen kids get away with non regulation kit, but not if they were at a match. They will tell you if it’s not acceptable surely?

They can tell me all they like, but they can't force me to spend £23 on something that's going to we worn for an hour about 15 times. She won't be representing the school at any sports.
The worst they can do is make her sit out of PE which she'd be more than happy to do.

We had this, ordinary local state school (an academy) with ridiculously strict uniform rules, two coats (branded) including a Canterbury coat, school sweatshirt, branded with the year colour as a ring round the school badge (you kept the same colour as you went through the school years, there were 3 colours in total) Trutex trousers in a certain design or Trutex skirt, choice of two. Next most expensive item after the coats were the school branded PE leggings. D2 left her (laboriously nametaped by me) PE kit in the classroom one day early in September and it was nicked. (Weirdly turned up in lost property about 4 years later) and I refused to shell out for another pair. D2 only wore them on the school playing fields or in the school gym so as far as I could see there was no justification for insisting on branded kit. I told her to tell the teacher I just could not afford to replace it and she used ordinary cheap black leggings. The teacher said "It's OK for now, but you must have proper kit next term." I never replaced them.