School shoes - budget

[Janeyraemer]

Hi there, I need to buy some new school shoes for my Little boy who is heading into year 1. We are now on a bit of a budget. Normally buy Clarke's or start rite etc but wondered if anyone has cheaper recommendations for good quality reasonably priced shoes that will last the year that are not in the c£45 price bracket? Thanks

Cheaper are the M&S school shoes

Is there a Clark's outlet near you? I went to one last year and they had a huge selection of school shoes. Discounted as they were old style but the styles don't change very much so they as good as any other pair in current range.

Thanks that's a good tip. I didn't realise there was any such thing!

Agree with Clarks Outlet.

Alternatively, M&S/Next/supermarket shoes are really pretty good these days - DD ended up with Asda shoes after we left her Clarks ones with friends an hour away and had to do an emergency dash on a Sunday afternoon, and the Asda ones were fine and lasted most of the year. If you go down this route I suggest you get your DS's feet measured at Clarks first though.

www.shoesforkids.co.uk/

They have all the size charts, just measure feet- I draw round them on piece of paper.

I bought some from next. They were terrible. Scuffed within days and started to fall apart. They were £38 too so not cheap

I agree next aren't great. Ds had next last year and we replaced 3 times and hes not a climber or a shoe ruiner. Hes really good with shoes.
We are trying clarks this year hoping it will be better.

It depends on their feet. Mine have awkward feet so only certain brands/styles fit. When dd was in nursery she had a pair for £10 from Asda that fittd her wide foot, high instep perfectly and were indestructible. Clarks ones were just too shallow for her. But after that I could never get cheap shoes to fit her and had to get Start-Rote (which were much more hard wearing than Clarks.

Ds on the other hand had stupidly narrow feet so supermarket/M & S/Next shoes were like boats on him. There is a brand called Toughees but our local shoe shop stopped selling them. they were fantastic and cheaper than Clarks/Start-Rite.

We got some in Asda. But term hasn't started yet so no idea if they'll hold out. Think they were £12 or £15. Quality looks and feels ok, on a par with Clarks(which fell apart) and M&S (ditto).

Do you have a Clarks outlet near you, just bought DC's in our local one for less than half the price of normal Clarks.

I'm lucky in that my mum helps out with buying school shoes, but I agree - Clarks are not great and seem to fall apart quite easily.

Last year ds1 had some Tesco shoes for a while when he grew out of his good school shoes and we couldn't afford to replace with decent leather ones. To be honest, as long as they fit (i.e. are comfortable, don't rub or pinch which the child will soon tell you) they will be fine.

I'm pretty sure the whole child shoe fitting ritual is a big ol' con...

www.clarksoutlet.co.uk/storelocator
Another vote for Clark's 'outlets' here.

There is also one at Braintree Freeport which isn't on the list, if that is any use to you.

Off the top of my head, DS2's last pair ('big' size 8 - he's 16) cost £29, vs. normal price £45 / £50 for the style I bought. So not 'Asda Price', but a significant saving for the quality of shoe. We've only had one Clark's shoe disintegrate beyond DIY repair, many years ago, although that was about three weeks before the end of a summer term, so not the time I would have chosen to replace school shoes for a then 7 year old...

DD2 is really hard on shoes because of her coordination (and refusal to use brakes on her scooter) and can rip the strap clean off Mary Jane style ones in under a month. Best shoes we have had in the last few years have either been Geox ones when TK Maxx had them in online, or Sainsburys brogue style ones (we replaced the laces with no-tie silicone ones). They have far outlasted any from any other place - still almost going strong now (the patent has worn away at the toes and she's grown so is getting new for September). They only got scuffed because apparently the game of choice is to climb up the little climbing wall and see if you can hang on by your arms for the whole of playtime (I despair).

Yes to Geox for quality but they are very pricey. And last time they had a sale, the school shoes were not included... Same shoe style in blue was 40% off, black ones full price 😡
But worth it if you can get them in TK Maxx

They pop up on TK Maxx website occasionally - I'd never pay full price!

I'll watch out for them on the website, thanks for the tip Pantsy (great username )

Another vote for Clark's outlet, it means most of the kids in class have the same shoes though as there's usually only a couple styles ha.

I've bought Tesco leather shoes a few times and indestructible. £14 and lasted way better than anything else.

Sainsbury's are good and they have 25% off till Monday

No point in measuring in Clark’s and buying elsewhere as brands vary in size and in fit.
Get the child to stand up and feel where big toe is in the shoe. You want the width of your little finger between the toe and the end of the shoes. (Don’t do this sitting as the foot will be in a different place in the shoe)
Gently tug the back of the shoe around the heel as if pulling it off - it shouldn’t slip off.
Check it doesn’t gape at the top and there isn’t a gap between the top of the foot and the shoe. (An insole might sort that if it’s minor)
Have ds walk away from you and watch for how well shoe supports him, awkward gait, anything odd really.
Get feedback on how they fit and feel from him.

Clarks are awful. They stopped being of good quality years ago and just really on everyone feeling they "have" to buy Clarks or their children's feet will be horribly deformed.

We've found Geox, Asda's leather ones and M&S ones to be hardwearing and well-fitting.

Clark's outlet if you have one nearby I got 2 pairs today for my dc and it came to £51

Thanks everyone - I'm going to try Asda!

I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs but even cheaper shoes can have their life lengthened with good care. Polish them every few days (sweeping generalisation alert...but I hardly see anyone with polished shoes anymore). Stuff then with paper if they get wet. Encourage child to undo laces before taking off (not slipping shoe on and off with laces or Velcro still closed)

Polishing regularly really makes a difference. Your DS can be shown how to do it.

We've managed to get shoes more cheaply from Sports Direct. My two have funny feet and we've been forced too. There is a fashion brand called firetrap - they have a walking boot style that we've found to be both cheap and durable. The laces needed replace after about 6 months. That's all. They were Rhino boots. £29

@BouleBaker "Clarks are awful. They stopped being of good quality years ago and just really on everyone feeling they "have" to buy Clarks or their children's feet will be horribly deformed"

We have used Clark's for years and I have never had to buy new shoes during the year (my children have the slowest growing feet in the world, they grow 1/2 size a year! My 8 year old is only a size 12.5 lol- boy! He's tall!)

I have 2 boys who are out the house 8.45-5.30, walk to school and play football in every break and after school, and last years shoes look like they could go another term easily and still look smart and fully in tact. Perhaps it depends on the child/style of shoe.