How much to budget for School Uniform

[SherbertLemons]

Hi everyone. Our DD starts school in September 2026. It would be really helpful to know how much you all budget for uniform (and shoes) each year. I was going to start a sink fund so we are ready for April (and beyond!) when school offers go out and we can start purchasing.

£300 per year for Primary. £1500 for year 7 then £300 per year topping up bits for years 8-11. In primary they grow out of uniform. In high school it’s not cool to get new uniforms every year unless it’s an an absolute need so we just replace lost bits, fresh shirts and new shoes.

£300 is a lot. I don't spend half of that and that's with me choosing to buy the branded polo tops and jumpers. I spend about £200 as a full set of uniform including PE kit but hardly any of it uas needed replacing that often. DS is in year 5 and on his maybe 4th set of trousers and 3rd set of jumpers.

Some of his has been passed down to DD and there are second hand PFA sales too.

If it's white polo shirts I suggest about six for reception. A couple will be ruined by Xmas.

School second hand uniform sales can save a lot of money. Especially for PE kit that doesn't get trashed.

I got the whole lot not including shoes for £50 for my son's first year at school. All stuff without logos so was a lot cheaper. 5 polos, 4 jumpers, 1 fleece, 4 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 PE tops, 2 pairs of PE shorts and a pack of black socks. I waited until the summer when supermarkets have their school uniform sales on.

Polos are around £5 for a pack of two at Asda or slightly more/less depending on size and quantity. I say Asda as I find them the best for us but any supermarket polo will do. You'll need 5 of those and possibly a couple of spares. Don't go buying them from JL or Marks as they'll be stained and dirty in no time so its easier to throw them out and buy new. If you go 3 lots a year, that's about £45 on polos. If you go with pinafores you might get away with fewer.

Pinafores/skirts/trousers from supermarkets can be a bit scratchy. You might want to spend a little more or look out for jersey material.

Don't be sucked into branded items. They aren't worth it. Stick to supermarkets. JL anyday cardigans are very nice and wash well but are more expensive at about £15/£20 for 2. You'll possibly need 5 depending on how messy LO gets. They also get lost regardless of naming.

Re shoes, it depends of type of feet LO has. You can try Clarks/Startrite but be prepared to find they are scuffed within a week. You could end up spending £50 per term.
Add in socks/tights/shorts/PE kit, you are looking at about £300.

For primary school, all stuff from supermarkets or I get logo stuff from 2nd hand uniform sale through school, school shoes and coat from supermarket as well, probably £50 in total. Maybe an extra £10 pair of shoes towards end of year but then don't need new ones at start of next year

Virtually nothing - I get it all on Vinted and logoed jumpers and polo shirts at the PTA second hand shop. Maybe £20 a year? Bit more for secondary but not much.

We only need 3 polos as they wear pe kit into school 2 days a week, don't bother with spares. Why would you need 5 cardigans? We have 1 cardigan per week. Doesn't matter if shoes are scuffed or polos are marked, as long as clean and still functional they can wear them.

Impossible to make this decision based on what other people do because of variables. But you can do it for yourself.

Take a look at the uniform requirements of the school he's going to. How much of the uniform is branded (therefore no optionality on what you buy) and how much does that cost? Then look at what he needs that is not branded and look around to see what you would be willing to buy ito cost, availability etc. Then work it out.

As a rule, for smaller kids, if you are generous in your sizing, you shouldn't need to buy more often than once a year. Particularly the branded stuff like PE jumpers/tshirts which can more easily be sized up vs trousers. Then decide numbers based on your assessment of whether as a family you're "wash daily but only have 2 items" or "do one big load once a week so we need 5 t-shirts".

Shirts/t-shirts tend to get destroyed more quickly so buy more. Jumpers are notoriously slippery in the first year or two and disappear. Add labels to your budget!

Primary school
2 x trousers £12
5 x shirts £10
2 x jumpers £12
Shoes £55
Socks & Pants £15
Trainers £35
Sports tshirt £7
Sports shorts £7
Waterproof coat £40
Tie £5

All from Tesco except the logo'd sweaters and tie. Shoes from Clarks because they last longer. Our shirts needed collars

So £200ish.

I’d say it depends on your budget OP. The uniform can be as cheap or as expensive as you make it. I’ll put the costs for my son below. I should caveat that he’s an only child so I’m not having to budget for multiple uniforms. He’s just went in to p2 and I didn’t bother with jumpers this year, I got a few Next hoodies instead as he prefers them. He prefers wearing trainers to school as well so no boots this year.

I’m also conscious that not everyone wants to do a ‘new’ uniform everyday. But it’s my preferred way to manage the week.

Here’s what I spent on my sons first year:

3 packs of 2 trousers from M&S £11 per pack
2 pairs M&S school shorts £8
7 x school branded t shirts £11 each
5 x school branded jumper £16 each (didn’t wear them)
school branded fleece £26
2 gym shorts £10
kickers boots £60
Air max trainers £120 (2 pairs - he outgrew one pair)
North Face jacket £120
Smiggle bag, lunch box and water bottle £56

The M&S trousers and shorts were still in great condition by the end of the year but he was outgrowing them. So, they went to his pal who is wearing them this year.

Second hand uniform sales are your friend. Also supermarket for grey trousers and the like. Primary kids bloody wreck uniform.

it’s worth getting expensive shoes as the cheap ones wear out incredibly fast:

It really depends on alot of factors

1. Are you going to get branded or unbranded? We do a mix.
2. How messy your child gets? We go through a new uniform each day
3. How many PE days you have a week? We have 2 so need 2 full PE kits but some weeks they change things up and we need an extra uniform each week.
4. How often you wash and how quick it is to dry? I only wash once a week (Fri / Sat) and iron Sun evening.
5. How quick your child grows?
6. How many items get lost or broken in a year?

I'd say all in we do about £300 including bags, coats, lunchboxes, water bottles etc.
I try to get alot from the second hand uniform sales if I buy branded.

My DS is year 3 now and over the years realised 1) decent clarks shoes win out over supermarket shoes 2) decent branded trainers from sports direct are better than supermarket ones 3) DS doesn't like jumpers and wears either the fleece or nothing so I don't bother with those anymore

It really depends on a lot of factors. I have never spent anywhere near £300 a year on either child at primary. We buy new shoes when needed (usually one pair every 9 months or so). School t shirts we do have branded but last a 3 years or so (my children are small and don’t grow much). School trousers, I keep an eye out in the charity shop but if not just get from Tesco.

First year of secondary was £££.

Depends on the school.
the first thing to buy is sew in labels - the big 1 inch ones. Forget stickers and stamps!
Then find out if they wear pE kit into school on PE days.
Buy a pair of trousers and a shirt per day.
2 jumpers (cheapest available, don’t buy branded if not necessary). Label all with your sew in labels, somewhere easily visible (bottom seam, on the outside)
A set of pe top and bottoms per PE day. If your school allows base layers, get shorts and base-layer (i.e. cheap leggings), forget tracksuit bottoms. Label everything on the outside with your big labels.
Schoolshoes, plus cheap trainers, a bookbag, done.
Use second hand sale wherever possible.
All in all 150 should be plenty for a reception child.