Over Priced School Uniform

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you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/school-uniform

Many schools are now enforcing school uniform policies that force parents to buy from a single supplier. The result of this is that the cost of a complete school uniforms is now approaching £300 per pupil at many schools.

DfES guidelines state that "No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform"

On top of that, the CMA has written an open letter to schools warning that their policies may in fact be in breach of competition law.

In November 2015, the then chancellor George Osborne promised to make government guidance on school uniform legally binding, giving parents the power to challenge extortionate uniform requirements, however nothing has been done by the government in the interim.

Yesterday, we were featured on Stray FM with the goal of getting a broad range of support up and down the country so that we can force politicians into resolving the crisis that extortionate uniform costs are placing many parents into.

Please sign our petition on 38 degrees and help us achieve this goal for parents up and down the country.

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/school-uniform

The result of this is that the cost of a complete school uniforms is now approaching £300 per pupil at many schools.

Can you give any more information / data on this? What % of state secondary schools do you think this applies to, and where have you got your data from?

What price would you consider reasonable and how long would you expect it to last? DD1's blazer lasted the full 5 years!

DD's secondary uniform came to nowhere near £300.

However my DD's school does not have logoed skirts / shirts / trousers, though I know some schools are introducing them (due to children/parents buying unsuitable/non-conforming styles?)

It's hard to say what percentage of schools are affected however many of the schools around the area I live use school-shop.co.uk as their only supplier. The cost I have come to includes 2 pairs of trousers (with logo), 5 shirts, blazer, tie and 2x PE kits (after all, it might not be possible to wash / dry overnight). It adds up to around £270 per pupil but that doesn't account for children growing and needing bigger trousers etc.

As far as blazers go, I don't think there are many objections to £20-30 - the objection is skirts, trousers, PE kits and everything else which must have the school logo and be in exactly the right shade of colour.

It has cost me a fortune with my twins as there is so much of it to buy but I must admit I love how smart it looks.
It’s not particularly more expensive than supermarket/high street uniform it’s just there is so much of it - so many combinations of sports kit, trainers, football boots, ties, blazers, school shoes.
It’s also very good quality so I can pass it down to my other children and sell it on after that. There is a great market for second hand at our school. They have a Facebook page.