£120 so far.

[Manchesterhistorygirl]

Ds1 needed new everything and so far it's set me back £120 including shoes! That's for four pairs of trousers, six polo shirts, 3 logoed jumpers, lunchbox and shoes.

His dad is giving him one of his many rucksacks and it doesn't include the two pairs of shorts I bought him just before term ended!

This is for primary school! Year 3!

We do sales about once a term:

end Sept / early October - to push winter uniform
end March - to push summer uniform
mid July - for the organised parents for next school year

Also will look in store for parents as and when requested

We have a collection box by the school office, and send out requests before sales via school newsletter.
Also, if we are organised, we send note to y6 to leave uniform on their last day.
Mainly it's the age 5-6 that goes fastest.

Doesn't make loads, but acts mainly as a service to parents.

Going into year 5 DD had size 4 feet at the end of last term! She has grown an unbelievable 4cms so far this holiday so I can't bring myself to think about uniform what with the indoor and outdoor trainers which are now at adult prices.
Our school has a very busy second hand shop open every Thursday afternoon of term time and the two Thursday prior to the start of the autumn term.
Parents get 75% of sale price PTA gets 25% school has 500 pupils makes the PTA about £5000 per year. The fact that parents get some back means in has really good stock levels plus it sells book bags, PE bags etc.

Lonecat, my dd has shot up 5cm this holiday too, must be something in the air!

Luckily she's a beanpole and young enough that a short pinafore isn't an issue

DD's has come to £282.43 so far and I haven't bought her coat, plimsolls or tights yet, she is reception though so that's including book bag and stuff that she won't grow out of, it all has logos so cant buy it cheaper anywhere and there's nothing in the second hand shop in her size.

in contrast my year 6 brother has grown out of everything and needs
5 polos = £15
5 pairs of trousers = £15
PE top £3
PE shorts £4
Shoes £20
3 school jumpers = £21
school bag = £10
and probably some socks
(most of it has logos and it all comes to 95p less than DDs blazer and he still looks really smart)

For ds(9), we've bought

Shoes = £46
Trainers = £26
Trousers x 4 = £16
Logo Sweatshirt x 4 = £32
Polo Shirts x 6 = £18
Polo Shirts Logos x 6 = £9
Socks x 7 = £4
PE Bag = £8

Last years PE shorts/tshirt and school bag ok for this year.

Total £159

(hoping shoes and trousers last until Xmas!)

Our DD is starting reception, so needed everything (hat, bookbag, water bottles etc. as well as uniform). It's totted up to nearly £200, and Grandma is buying school shoes! Next year I am hoping it will be a lot less - I figure about £80 is stuff that won't need to be bought again unless lost/damaged. I bought enough for a week in a variety of styles (and in biggish sizes) so I can see what works for her and then when I need to buy again it will be secondhand as much as possible. I reckon lots of her uniform will fit next year too (love those empire line pinafores and adjustable waists!!)

I am intrigued by the buy-minimum-and-wash-lots vs. have-enough-for-a-week brigades (which opinions seem to pop up in every thread about uniforms ) and wonder if anyone has actually done the maths to work out roughly how much it costs to have a one on, one in the wash system (assuming mucky pup) vs the alternative. I would have to run a largely empty machine 4 times a week....

Rats.

For the past three years mine have been at three different schools (without a common colour between them). Trying to work out the best way to wash red, yellow and white polo shirts plus grey, blue and burgundy sweatshirts without five separate washes or turning everything beige which was the best option as it turns out has been doing my head in.

This year DS1 is out of uniform at last and DD goes up to DS2's school. But does she fit his carefully saved, outgrown sweatshirts and PE kit? Does she buggery. She must be 4 inches taller than he was at that age!

For those of you who are nosy like me who would like to know, I bought:
3 summer dresses
2 pairs of culottes
2 short sleeved blouses
2 3/4 sleeved blouses
2 long sleeved blouses
3 pinafores (1 'smart', 2 comfy)
2 trousers
1 logo sweatshirt (will have to buy more if she will actually wear one)
1 school tie (will try to get one secondhand for spare)

5 pairs ankle socks
5 pairs knee highs
2 pairs tights (will need more - DD has a talent for hole-making)
5 vests
5 pairs knickers

1 pair pe shorts
1 logo pe shirt
1 pair plimsolls

1 book bag
1 pe bag
1 sunhat
1 lunch bag
2 water bottles
1 rucksack
100 name tags

My kids are in High School and I did used to overbuy when they were younger but now they get 3 sets of trouser/skirt each, 3 jumpers/cardigan and 5 shirts. It's plenty without needing to wash midweek. The jumper/trousers should last at least 2 days, but there is an extra day out of one of the sets if required.

Sparrowfart23, it depends how many kid you have and how expensive your uniform is.

according to google it costs 68p to do one load of washing.
so thats £3.40 a week,
on average there are 39 weeks per school year, which is £132.60 a year to wash every night
compared to £26.52 for once a week,
a weeks work of uniform for my brother is £52 (for the bits that need washing) so if he was the only child washing once a week would save £54.06 a year,
however mum actually has 5 school age children so washing daily saves her about £78 a school year (probably more as the older 2 are at grammar but I don't have the cost of heir uniforms to hand)

To have enough to wash DD's uniform once a week would cost me £255.60 but her shirts and tight come in packs of 3 so its cheaper for me to do a midweek wash and a weekend wash

This is assuming that you are letting the clothes dry on the line, a tumble dryer would cost an extra 10p a load.

that's it would cos an extra £255.60 for DD and an extra £52 for my brother to have enough for a week rather than just having enough to wash every other day.

Xihha - I knew there was someone out there who would know! I agree it makes sense if you have more children to have less uniform and wash more often - otherwise there would be a mountain at the weekend. Although sometimes I feel like I spend my life doing laundry, in reality it's probably one light, one coloured, one dark load a week, plus towels/bedding. Also it would depend how expensive the uniform is - I figure summer uniform is approx £4.50 and winter £8 an outfit for us.

I always console myself by thinking that school uniform means they need less normal clothes but then find they have not enough clothes when we reach holidays

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/parents-forced-into-debt-to-pay-for-school-uniforms-8762331.html

For ds1 and ds2 - only nursery age but need:

X2 nursery smocks = £28 each. So £56 for one each
School bag - £11 each. £22 total

Sister (age 14):
Blazer- £67 ( outgrown last one which lasted 3 years)
Shirts x5 - £35
Skirts x2 - £65 ( school ones only)
Tights x8 - £25

Jumpers/ bag/ shoes/ tie all ok still

She is also starting gcses so have brought supplies for those subjects ie: she's taking fine art so more paints/ brushes/ white spirit/ clay/ inks/ charcoal etc. ( prob £250!). I remember struggling with completing work as had no supplies of things at home such as proper art things, laptop, paper, so like to make sure they have everything like that

We have a savings account we put £80 per month to cover school/ nursery expenses ie: clothes/ stationary/ small trips. But will prob need to up this.

I only buy 2 of each item, 1 to wear and 1 to wash. Why pay out over double sometimes 3 times as much when you really dont need to? Baffling exp when people then complain about the cost, there is a solution to that.

I'm planning on getting 3 jumpers for DS1 for this year. The number of times last year that I had to put a wash on specifically because he didn't have a clean jumper was a nightmare.

He will have
6 polos
4 pairs of trousers (because they come in pairs otherwise I would have 3)
3 jumpers

I think uniform is really cheap at primary, especially because our school only have the logo on the jumpers and everything else can be generic.
DS1 leaves his uniform on when he gets home, I can't be doing with him dirtying two sets of clothes in one day, so I do find that he doesn't need anything like as many clothes as he did before he started school.

I don't have time to wash daily so need to have enough to last the week. We only wash fri Eve if we can help it for clothes and sat sometime for bedding.

I buy dd1

2 dresses (£11 each)and a skirt (£10). I buy dresses from m&s as I find they last longer so dd2 can have them
4 polo tops (£6 total)
Shoes approx £30 (2 pairs per year)
Pe kit is about £12 for pumps, t shirt and shorts but lasts 2 years usually (not pumps though but they're only £3)
Cardigans £12 I buy 2 each but last 2 years. I find I can wipe clean the cardys and so get 2 days out of each no problem.

Shoes £30 each that is. I don't think cheap shoes last at all so its one area I won't go supermarket.

For my DD2 (age 8), all I have for basic uniform is:
2 x logo polo shirts
1 x logo cardigan
1 x logo jumper
1 x trousers
1 x skirt
2 x summer dress (2 sizes, 1 turned up or a bit short for a year)

• PE kit All items last at least 2 academic years as she doesn't grow very fast. Trainers for outdoor PE are taken in to school on required day.

She is not sweaty, is a tidy eater, and doesn't roll around in the mud at playtime. A polo shirt & jumper can happily be worn for the week.
If jumper / skirt / trousers get visibly dirty mid week (eg paint, glue, food) they get spot washed. If that doesn't work we go onto the alternative. Gets washed Fri pm, ready for the next week.

So I am one of the buy-minimum-wash-minimum brigade.

I'm one that buys at least 5 shirts, 4 pairs of trousers, 3 jumpers, 1 blazer, 5 pairs of socks and a PE kit for each of mine (plus extras like bags, shoes, trainers, coats with shool logos, and swim kits).
I don't wash everyday as I don't have a tumble dryer (don't want one either) and in the winter it takes longer to dry things on the airer so i Like to have enough uniform to get through the week without washing or just washing once.

Because most items only get worn once or twice a week they last longer anyway so althought he initial outlay is bigger, replacement costs are less as things tend to last until they have been outgrown. I could imagine that shirts, jumpers and trousers would need replacing mid year if I only had two sets being used in rotation. As it stands most of the stuff I bought last year still has a good few months wear left so I nly need to replace a few things this year.

Add the cost of daily washing to the extra replacement costs due to quicker wearing out and I think it's more economical to buy more sets of uniform and wash less often.

I spent over £500 last year as both children started new schools and needed new everything, but I will only be spending about £150 -£200 between both of them this year including new trainers each for PE.

Our primary school has now stated no polo shirts allowed - Reception onwards! Oh, and every child has to wear a tie ..... I wonder how many of those he will lose

I got trousers when Marks' had 20% off - still waiting for uniform shop to collate my online order; someone suggested Next for school shoes, although he got through a whole school year in one pair of Clarks shoes last year.

I loathe ties on small children. Lots of Scottish friends had children starting in P1 this week and without fail they were all in blazers and ties. Why?! So impractical for active play, and either expensive or hideous quality or both.

And that's before we get into how fiddly a full set of shirt buttons is compared with a polo shirt.

A shirt and tie needn't be fiddly. Marks and Spencer's have elasticated button cuffs and Velcro instead of top buttons on their school shirts so they are easy to put on even for little ones. And most schools have elasticated ties available for infants.
Surprising my son hasn't lost a single tie yet, but he has lost everything else including his school coat and shoes on several occasions. I just label everything and it all gets returned eventually.
Proper shirts also wash better in my experience, they don't shrink or go out of shape and look smart all year round. Polo shirts are a must have for PE, but shirts in class are not at all impractical and you can always get short sleeved ones which is a bit of a halfway option.
I have one son who wears a shirt and tie and one who wears polo shirts and they both look equally nice but the shirt and tie is definitely smarter.