mums who have been there before - which shoes shoes would you get?

[Lindax]

ds starts primary 1 in August and I just cannot decide which school shoes to get, and at around £35-£40 a time dont want to get it too wrong - please help me!

can you recommend whether its best to get a school shoe or trainer (allowed either) or recommend a shoe/trainer thats going to last reasonably well in rainy Scotland!

ds 11.5 G fitting, with very very sweaty feet (sorry if tmi ) so shoe needs to be able to let feet breath, but still be rainproof. I like look of :

Clarks Tommy with Gortex linning to keep feet dry
Start-rite Spin
Start-rite Campbell
Geox School Rocket

Is there anything above you've tried before and would recommend or would you advise to stay away from any........

other suggestions welcome!

Personal opinion only, I would say Start-Rite always seem to last longer - I don't know if that's the fitting is more accurate or whatever. We always seemed to have to replace Clarks more often. Good luck with the sweaty feet!

Another personal opinion, anything with velcro!

Anything by Ricosta - lasts and lasts - ds's last pair were over a year old and still going strong....if you can find an independent stockist.

Black school shoes for boys are grim though arent they?

I know because I have 2 boys and ds2 (4y) starts Rec in September and is excited about his first pair of big boy shoes.

I am less excited.

well I have never had to replace clarks shoes becasue of wear and tear and my ds's feet grow slowly

I would get him the pair he likes the best
and if you're in scotland I would steer him to the clarks gortex ones

ds 6yrs says the geoxx ones are the best

My son't first pair were from Next. I think they were only £17, but they looked smart and were absolutely fine. He needed a new pair after the first half-term though as he went from a sz 9 to a 10.5!

I then got Clarks for him (10.5). These have lasted right from October half term until the end of summer term. I think he is an 11 now but they have a whole size of growth in them apparently.

I would be more than happy to go with Clarks again, or try start-rite, or Geox, or have next! Not sure if I would be considering Geox school shoes though if he was getting through a pair every half-term as happened at the start of the year!

thanks everyone for your help.

went for the Clarks Gotex, ordered online into shop and they are a lovely shoe, soft leather outside and inside is like a comfy stock with no rough seams/stitching etc, but.........

took them home and noticed on one shoe there were two leather folds between the shoe and the tongue about 1 cm long facing the wrong way and sticking directly into the top of his feet, obviously a manufacturing fault. took back and manageress was a right nippy sweetie asking how long I had them for (eh? 4 hours!) and insisting they would be okay and if I "just try them they would probably soften up with some wear" - had to insist more than once that at £36 I'd rather have a pair that was not faulty or risk blisters on ds's feet during first weeks of school. She finally relented and said she would refund but not before I was subjected to an act conversation between her and another assistant about how it was an online order in and she would have kept the shoe for her son if it was his size as she was sure there was nothing wrong with it - eh hello customer is still here!!!!

Anyway they didn't have any in stock and I was so miffed with her I went to independant and got the Geox instead. Also looks like a lovely shoe and ds is very happy, but still very miffed at Clarks!

I put DS into Startrite Spin - well worth the money !

Geox wear well. The other school shoe that is nice is by Ecco. Very light and hard wearing.

Clarks are not great for customer service or for quality ime. I find their shoes don't wear so well and they don't represent the best value for money. I'm a hush puppy girl myself. But then I have a girl, rather than a boy, and I don't know what Hush Puppy's are like for boys.

The Geox sound tood though.

I get kickers for both of mine - the T Bar ones for DD and thge velcro ones for DS but they have to be the ones like classic kickers that the sole pokes out furthur than the toe as this stops them raking the fronts along the ground.

DD has had ones that have lasted a full school year!

Ricosta, Geox or Ecco here, Clarks not great fit and also feel very hard- Ds has had Ricosta boots for nearly a whole year now and they are fab- can also wash the insole after a hard wear IYKWIM

I got a pair of Clarks for reception and they lasted all year! For year 1 I tried Hush Puppies which were a couple of quid more. They fell apart after less than a term - even the soles wore through! I would never by Hush Puppies again. Back to Clarks, but not so lucky this time - the sole peeled away from the shoe quite quickly. I think this was a bad style though and the one you've posted a link to looks good to me, I might try them this year.

If your son has wide feet you may find Clarks a better fit than Start Rite.

marks and spencers lasted my kids ages.

Clarks rubbish and bhs and adams next to nothing time.

All the best to your little one x

I got hush puppies in an 11.5G for my ds out of brantano, really smart looking and they had different insoles for different width fittings and the all important rubber bit at the front that comes right up to minimise scuffs.
I hate clarks, have had to take wrongly fitted shoes back to them on more than one occasion!

Clarks in their wisdom have stopped doing the style I buy for dd in an H, she is age 12 and takes a 7H and I'm not going up a size to get the width as they always suggest as her feet look big enough already.