Schoolblazer uniform costs

[Pinkfranny]

I can not believe how much schoolblazer keeps increasing the cost of our school’s uniform. I am in discussion with our school about it but I could do with some evidence of other school’s costs that are also obliged to use schoolblazer.

if you have to buy your child’s blazer from www.schoolblazer.com please could you tell me the current price? (You don’t need to name the school)

Ours is now £94 🙈

TIA x

Ours (state grammar) and pure wool was £130 but I think they are introducing a synthetic fibre one for £75 ish this year.

It's not just the blazer, the games top alone is £60....

£97 now from school blazer (it was 82 when I bought at Christmas last year). And that's for primary school 😳

DD’s school moved over the School Blazer a couple of years ago. Expensive and poorer quality than the last supplier. She’s still in prep so doesn’t need a blazer yet, but have just looked and its around the £100 mark 🙈

£105 for dd2, although I’ve not updated her measurements so it could well be more. I’m sure it was around £45 when I bought the blazer at the start of year 7. The cuffs are trashed, the pockets are more hole than pocket, and the hem is pretty tatty too, but at that price, it’ll do for one more year. She’ll be starting year 11 in September. I must have bought it big for it to last the whole 5 years.

Blimey. Some of these prices are eye-watering.

Our blazers are around £50 which I thought was pretty steep. Some other local schools are £35 - £40. None of them seem to be particularly good quality but at least our one is quite nice colours and smart.

DS’s school also on school blazer. Just checked and it’s now £111 😯. Wouldn’t mind so much if he actually wore it but seems to live in his PE kit!

Ours is private secondary, they're £75 from the supplier, but you can choose to DIY instead. We got a really nice JL blazer for £30 plus the £5 badge. Good quality and has lasted really well (it's done both kids v happily).

£34.50 for a naffola polyester one from a local supplier.

£98, but it’s a private school.

SchoolBlazer at our school (Oundle) and if I bought new today it’s £114.
But they’ve run a second hand system here, in house, and i kitted out my first child for around £100 for nearly all uniform including sport kit clothes. From then on you just trade in the old blazer (or whatever item you need) and take the next size up when you need it.

Same at my boys' prep.
The blazer is vey good quality and around £100 new but nobody I know buys it new. The school run second hand shop kits them out and swaps for larger sizes as necessary.
Because it's good quality and doesn't have a badge it can also be used for smart non school occasions.

Private school blazer is £144 on Schoolblazer 😡. I'm getting 2 sizes too big because we can't keep replacing it at that price!

£73 for my DC’s prep school blazer on School Blazer.

£100 here and a recent uniform overhaul has basically wiped out the second hand market. It’s a joke.

Never mind the school blazer cost , the percentage increase on normal fees has us in for an extra £3k per year per child. 7.5% uplift. Ouch.

Let's take a stand against these ridiculous costs. Please sign my petition to reduce the cost of school uniform.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/641227

Obviously that is only for state schools though. A lot using SchoolBlazer are private schools (although not all are).

Our private school has just switched to them from John Lewis and the cost is double what it used to be. I didn’t realise the school got a commission…. They are charging £9 for a single pair of branded socks which parents find appalling!

Very limited sympathy for private school parents to be honest - if the uniform is too expensive then don't send your child there.

State schools should have a more inclusive policy though. Ours (London comp with 30% FSM) has its own local supplier and blazers are around £40 which seems par for the course. They are polyester but wash / dry quickly and wear well.

My kids only had two each through their whole five years there so not unreasonable at all for me who could afford it, but still a lot of money for some families. (There's also a regulation kilt and PE kit to fund; everything else can be bought "off the peg")

yes we had that when the new Head arrived about 7 years or so ago. Complete change of uniform with new colours ties blazers, girl's uniform the lot. It cost close to £1000 to get a new complete set. Parents were furious. Such a waste as well to ditch or charity shop (who wants an obsolete school branded uniform anyway?) the old uniform.

I really don't understand the schools' obsession with blazers? They're restrictive, uncomfortable and ridiculously expensive.
Back in the days when all business people wore suits all the time, I can understand why it was seen as a positive. But not now.
My now adult kids' school has sweatshirts. Much better!

Sweatshirts don't have pockets, it's annoying having only trouser pockets to put things. DS loved his blazer for the pockets and found it comfortable.

A zip up fleece with pockets could work well.

Our blazers are £38. A high school for about between 1000 and 1500 pupils in the west of Scotland. School tie is £7.

The rest of the uniform is plain black trousers, plain black jumper and white shirt with black shoes. No branding on any of those so we can buy them from any supermarket or M&S or wherever you want so cost can be kept down.

The school PTA also ask that we hand in everything that’s in decent condition at the end of the year if it no longer fits our kids, including trainers and shirts etc. They launder it and put it up on the school’s Uniformly site for free, and you can reserve whatever you need and collect from the office. So you can actually get the full uniform for free if you want to do second hand.