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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

School uniform

25 replies

ariane5 · 01/07/2013 21:53

Dd1 will start senior school in sep. Today I have been looking at the uniform list and there are a couple of 'optional' items on the list.

One is a regulation school coat which is very expensive or you can get your own plain coat, the other is the school regulation scarf.

I don't want dd to be different but do not know many other parents so wanted to find out if the majority of people would get the regulation coat and scarf etc or just buy plain ones from elsewhere?

TIA

OP posts:
creamteas · 01/07/2013 22:11

It will depend from school to school I think.

I would suggest that as your DD is unlikely to wear a school coat outside of school and so may need one anyway, start with a non-regulation plain, then invest in a school one later if needed.

Do bear in mind that many secondary age children develop a strong aversion to all coats and would rather by wet and/or cold when considering any investment Grin

HabbaDabbaDoo · 01/07/2013 22:31

I have never, ever seen a secondary school kid wear a coat :)

Save your money.

Original poster
ariane5 · 01/07/2013 22:36

Really Habba?!

Dd1 gets so cold in winter! I'm sure she will need a coat but the regulation one was £££.

I think I will get her one but perhaps a plain cheaper one and scarf so at least she has the choice and if she doesn't wear it I won't be annoyed as won't have spent a fortune!

OP posts:
HabbaDabbaDoo · 02/07/2013 00:39

You would think that the cold would force them to wear a coat but hat, scarf and gloves seen to be the only concession to the weather.

HabbaDabbaDoo · 02/07/2013 00:46

A lot of schools have a 2nd hand uniform shop. For DD we got a lot of her stuff from there. Obviously not stuff worn next to her skin but stuff like lab coat, track suit, cooking apron and the like.

Even girls whose parents are millionaires get stuff from there so no stigma to buying 2nd hand

CointreauVersial · 02/07/2013 01:00

"obviously not stuff worn next to the skin" Hmm ???

What do you think is going to happen to her if she wears a (gulp) second-hand skirt?

MollyBerry · 02/07/2013 01:08

Habba do you honestly think your washing machine wouldn't be able to get rid of someone else's 'cooties'

HabbaDabbaDoo · 02/07/2013 01:10

Why the Hmm ? Would you buy 2nd hand underwear for yourself?

Weegiemum · 02/07/2013 01:12

On a really wet, cold day in Glasgow, my just finished S1 (y7) dd would wear her duffle coat and even (in really driving rain) her waterproof.

I'd pass on the school coat. I get her trousers/skirts/shirts from tesco or m&s (the gods of the non-iron shirt) and only the tie and cardigan with logo from school. Others buy blazers, waterproofs, fleeces etc. Don't they remember being at high school?

mummytime · 02/07/2013 07:21

My DC have to buy the regulation: Blazer, skirt (girls boys can wear any school trousers), PE kit etc.

No one wears a coat, even the school recognises this, and when it is extremely cold with snow on the ground, they allow them to wear sensible mufti (we are in the SE so that is about 2 weeks a year at most).

heronsfly · 02/07/2013 07:28

My dd2 now year 11 will ocasionaly wear a coat if its really cold only because she got a superdry for christmas, but dd3 year 8 would rather freeze Grin,

Madmog · 02/07/2013 09:23

If there is a new parents evening coming up, you could ask then or just phone up. I had to have a good talk with my daughter's new school about uniform as she's so tiny, I knew some of the stuff in the school shop would be too big, so we talked about what was acceptable.

You often hear parents say their kids don't have a coat. My daughter is in Year 7 and all her main friends (five) have a coat for school. My daughter said she would wear one if it was black. She did wear it on days when it was really cold and also when it was pouring down with rain, so personally there are days they do need something, even if it's just a light waterproof coat. My friend's daughter tried making do without one and even with an umbrella arrived at my house one morning soaked through to her blouse.

MadeOfStarDust · 02/07/2013 09:50

Mine wears a coat if it is wet out - but she has never been a "sheep" as she puts it... "It is just stoooopid if you get cold and wet when you could wear a coat and stay warm and dry" - sensible - she must get side that from her mother.....

scaevola · 02/07/2013 09:53

You won't need a coat at the start of term (unless September is unusually cold)?

Can you delay buying anything until there is actual need, and perhaps an opportunity to spy on the school run and see what is actually worn?

You probably won't need a scarf at all. The DS's school has one, and I got one for the elder and he's never worn it because 'that's really sad, Mum'

GrimmaTheNome · 02/07/2013 09:59

Non regulation coat, for sure. Scarf - probably not, unless for some reason everyone decides they are wearing the school scarf this year and your dd is a bit of a sheep

Does depend also what sort of journey your DD will have - walking/standing at bus-stop or not. Mine realised coats were sometimes a good idea because she was yr7 two years back in that really cold winter which made buses break down!

MollyBerry · 02/07/2013 10:56

ariane I agree with the non-regulation coat, for the other things I think you need to see what the rest of the school/her year/her friends are doing.

Habba I don't mean wearing second hand underwear but a skirt is very different to underwear surely?

OhYouBadBadKitten · 02/07/2013 11:31

I wouldnt buy a coat unless she comes home blue asking for one unless you can find a non reg one that she is likely to wear out of school too.

CointreauVersial · 02/07/2013 16:38

Habba - no, I don't think there's much of a market for second hand underwear (at least, not a respectable one Wink ), but I certainly buy second hand clothes (shirts, trousers, teeshirts, even shoes) for myself and DCs.

pointythings · 02/07/2013 21:38

I only got DD the absolutely mandatory items - PE shirt, shorts and socks, plus blazer and tie. Everything else I've got from M&S (because they do 100% cotton stuff and DD has eczema).

We're lucky, our school's uniform is very affordable (was £42 for all the compulsory items and everything still fits and is in good condition).

Original poster
ariane5 · 02/07/2013 21:55

We unfortunately don't have a second hand uniform sale (new uniform from sep) for dds school.

I have been looking for a cheaper non regulation coat but as tje rules state no nylon etc all the lightweight ones are not suitable I think so dd will have to wait untill its cold enough for a thicker coat. She says she will want one and will wear it.

I ordered all her socks and tights from elsewhere as it was cheaper than the school supplier.

OP posts:
BackforGood · 02/07/2013 23:33

They might wear a non regulation coat to school, but there's no way in the world a teen would wear a SCHOOL UNIFORM coat on a Saturday / Sunday / in the hols, so you'd have to have another one anyway.

Don't buy the uniform coat is my opinion.

GrimmaTheNome · 03/07/2013 11:48

No nylon? (on a warm wet day a walking shell or jack-in-a-pack is ideal - does this school not realise what British summers are like?) What are they allowed?

Original poster
ariane5 · 03/07/2013 12:12

I know, I was planning on getting her a smart plain belted mac (she has one now but its patterned so no good!) It looks really smart but isn't the right material.

The regulation coat is a wool blend. Very smart and lovely (but completely out of our price range). Dh said she will have to make do with blazer and scarf and umbrella till its cold enough for a 'proper' coat. I'm hoping to get something a lot cheaper but will be just as smart.

I do think its a shame she can't just have something lightweight for end sep/beg oct when its just turning.

Never mind.

OP posts:
GrimmaTheNome · 03/07/2013 14:11

Wool blend? FFS this is the 21st century, there are way more sensible materials to make a coat out of. I'm glad DDs school has a more practical approach - they don't stress about the appearance of coats, its more important that kids wear something appropriate to the weather so they don't spend the day wet and/or cold.

Floggingmolly · 03/07/2013 14:16

She won't wear the coat or the scarf. She really, seriously won't. Save your money. I wish I had

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