to think branded school shirts are criminal

[uniformscrooge]

Looking at a secondary school for DD. They're allowed a max of 3 branded items as per gov rules.

One of the "items" is the shirt - and they're sold by the school supplier for £45 for a pack of 2! I'd probably have to buy 2 packs at least, and they'd probably not last the year. Is that not fucking crazy? I was expecting blazer, jumper, PE top or something, things i'd be able to just buy one of, not the fucking school shirt!

I know having teens is expensive but this takes the piss.. I probably won't send her there for a few reasons, I was just gobsmacked.

What are your mandatory branded items? Is this normal?

YABU - stop being so cheap and pay for the shirt
YANBU - fuck that, I want to buy shirts for a fiver from a supermarket

Wow that is insane!!! How can they justify that!

Completely agree with you, it's absolute daylight robbery. I think even three branded items is too much, what is the purpose of branded PE items?!

Yanbu that's ridiculous!

I don't understand who makes these decisions in schools

Sports teams in matching kit is important for fixtures against other schools.

Can you buy second hand?

Is the branding complicated to fake? There might be somebody online who can make a replica badge or iron on logo that you can add to a non branded shirt.

We pay that for non branded shirts because DD has to wear white and if you buy cheap you can see straight through them (we tried). We buy plain white shirts from an adult work uniform / restaurant supplier at £15 for 1.

Totally agree with you

We parents objected greatly at summer polo shirts to be used on hot days instead of regular shirts being branded but went forward and did it anyway

Our PE kit is also branded and way more expensive than the actually uniform. They insist students need two different sorts of trainers, branded shorts, branded top and branded tracksuit.

Ive objected to this for a long time, and think blazer tie and a pe top would be the most obvious choices for branded items.

We have just this year, finished with school uniform but my kids had to have school branded blazers , skirts or trousers (for girls ) but boys didnt need school branded ones , pe tshirt, socks, and shorts or shorts. Additional.pe items like rugby tops, waterproof coats, sweatshirts were available but I didnt get those. Their primary school brought in a branded uniform when it became part of a MAT. The head teacher spun it that there would be less lost property because primary age kids would take more pride in their new expensive uniform and not lose it!!

I would be aggrieved at paying that for shirts, DD had a growth spurt in year 8 and I replaced her shirts every term that year!

It’s the £45 that’s ridiculous. Our branded items for secondary are jumper and PE shirt. There are others, like a PE jumper, but they aren’t mandatory. The shirts cost £5 each. Even the branded jumper is only like £15.

Surely the school could have a stock of kits to use? It's not hard for a school to reach out for local sponsorship to buy them. Kids then get changed after the event into school clothes and the kits get washed again? It infuriates me that schools put the onus on every parent for branded kit in secondary when not every child partakes against other schools.

That’s ridiculous. What’s this rule that schools are only allowed to require 3 branded items max? Is that meant to be to save parents money? (clearly doesn’t work in your case!) Is it primary and secondary?

Previous school our child used to attend used Tesco branded school cardigans, and added a low quality embroided logo.
The mark up was obscene.

DDs secondary school’s mandatory logo items are a blazer (why?? Hardly anyone wears these anymore), a PE polo top & PE quarter zip top plus tie. The rest can be bought anywhere subject to certain requirements (length of skirt, colour etc). DS’s school have nothing mandatory - just grey skirt/trousers, red jumper/cardigan, white polo. So much easier & cheaper!

Our 3 items are (secondary)
Blazer £36
Tie £8
PE top £18

I was AMAZED how cheap and reasonable secondary school uniform was.

Primary branded item - £15 PE Hoody / £15 Jumper / £15 Cardigan

That can be done very easily without opting for branded stuff.

Communal PE Kit would be grim.

It's the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act.

The guidance for the 27/28 school year requires schools to consider whether the overall cost of their uniform would put off pupils from families with limited means, and says schools must "ensure that no item is unnecessarily high cost - this includes considering whether requiring an item to be branded will significantly increase costs". Given the cost of these shirts, I would say this school is going to have to change its thinking next year.

Where is the logo, OP? I'd be tempted to buy one set of shirts, then when they're outgrown cut out the logos and sew them onto plain shirts.

Yanbu! I buy supermarket shirts (DS in men's sizes £45 for 4) because with teen boys they get dingy and the armpits tend to go a bit yellow and sometimes hold a smell. They're cheap enough I can replace them during the year. Couldn't do that with more expensive ones. I've tried the Dettol, vinegar washes etc. if rather just replace. Couldn't afford to do that with branded.

I imagine there is a not insignificant element of “keeping out the riff raff”. You’ll get a certain type of parent paying £22.50 per shirt.

So you don’t pay that for non-branded. You pay 33% less.

Our school just has a stock of match kits that get used every year. Each child doesn't have their own! Parents wash on a rota. My son's basketball club does this too, works fine, keeps everyone the same, cheaper in the long run.

I think there should have been a price limit not an item limit.

And yrs, lots of schools have team kits for sports. You need different itens for different sports anyway, plus they may need two different colours so both teams arent trying to play in navy for example.

You are not being unreasonable, that's extortionate, I'd worry about sending my kid to that school if they charge that much for a shirt how much will they expect for school trips etc?!

My 13 year old son (very active, plays rugby and football at lunch) has already got a rip in one of his shirts, he's barely been back at school a month!