School uniforms sky high prices

[YouRat]

My ds goes to secondary school and will be in years 9 starting this September. They have New uniform too so will have to buy everything from scratch. I called today to ask the prices and it all came to around £200. . How is this possible. We live modest and this is going to be a real struggle. I have 3 other dc. Does this sound right ?
It's a blazer, shirt , tie, jumper, trousers PE top , track bottoms, socks and PE jumper.

That's how much we spent plus extras when dd first started, but i wouldn't be happy having to do it again for year 9. Is there not a grace period?
My old secondary brought in a new uniform but it was only worn by year 7s. The older ones didn't need to wear it. So it took 5 years before those year 7s were year 11s before the whole school was wearing it.

No grace period. All the school was told to buy the new uniform for third September. Have to start with one set of each for now. Hopefully will last him through the year.

If everything from scratch, then this sound right! My ds2 goes to a prep school, the blazer along costs £90! Disgusting!

Dd school brought in a new pe kit. But have had the grace to do a defered start for current year 7 upwards apart from teams and GCSE pe year 10. After complaints of cost bare min £70, head has said he'll give £15 back to those on tax credits or benefits.

We have two DC starting a brand new secondary school (house move). I budget £200 each including shoes. So it's believable. Can you spread the cost in any way? Can any plain items be got from Asda? Buy fewer and wash frequently?

It's a big outlay. Out of school they have about 3 t shirts!

Can you get generic / last year's shirts and trousers, OP?

Last years were black trousers and white polo shirts. This year grey trousers and white long sleeve shirt. I could go somewhere else for those but the other items are what's the most expensive. Nearly £50 for one bloody jumper.
Absolutely ridiculous.

I hear you OP.

Our secondary won't let us "shop around" we have to buy all the uniform from their specialist supplier , so we are taking £25 for a blouse😞.

We are financially struggling so it really irks me.

That's terrible, OP. Maybe buy the uniform but not the P.E. kit and use last year's...see what happens?

Can you ring the school and double check you can't use last year's? Most schools have a grace period of a year or two. You won't be the only one affected by this so perhaps they'll be flexible for a year or two.

We really need legislation to stop schools pulling this shit. Guidelines are clearly not working, time to put in something that has teeth. Uniform cost contravenes the rules = OFSTED inadequate. That will make them sit up and take notice.

I paid 500+ for one child to go to a state school. I was shocked but nothing could be bought from Tesco or M&S (logos or unusual colours).

We can afford it but I know lots can't, so I was pretty disgusted.

I thought that there were rules about cost and number of suppliers for school uniforms.
Ds starts year 7 in September and I can only get the uniform from one online supplier. Returns policy states they may charge a restocking fee,so I can't order more sizes for trying on.

Op I would hold off buying the jumper until October/November.
New trousers and shirts would be needed anyway as (presumably) your DS has outgrown his Y8 uniform.
So additional cost for blazer and tie.
On the PE kit, I would check out the track suit bottoms perhaps you could get plain black instead? And again it's unlikely these will be necessary in September - the weather is often very mild, so shorts would be easier and more suitable at least for a few weeks to help with the budget.

£200 sounds about right. Dd1 is starting secondary, and at the specialist supplier I spent £16 6 on: blazer, jumper & tie bundle, 2 regulation skirts (at £19 each!), PE kit bundle - indoor top, outdoor top, shorts and socks, and 3 logo'd cardis for dd2. The company embroider dd1's name on the PE kit tops and shorts, and also in the cardis. Pros and cons there! Just shirts to get for dd1 and ds, and shoes for all 3. The school had a fitting day where we could go and try stuff on which was really useful.

It's pants, but they'll be wearing it 5 days a week for 38 weeks, so cheaper than a school without uniform.

DD's new school seems pretty reasonable- most expensive item is the (washable) blazer (it's not a blazer, it's a jacket, grrr) at £45, and there is a huge, cheap second hand shop (jumpers£2 etc). Trousers, skirts, shirts, jumpers are all generic so can be supermarket bought. PE kit is mostly optional other than two tops (again, a massive store in the second hand shop).
Much more affordable than her primary.

I won't be buying the PE kit atm I think. The jumper is compulsary to be worn with the tie and blazer .

I thought that there were rules about cost and number of suppliers for school uniforms

If a school is stipulating a single supplier it may be in breach of monopolies legislation. The Competition and Markets Authority want parents and suppliers to inform them of any such deals.

The Admissions Code says that admission authorities must ensure that school uniform policies don't discourage parents from applying for a place. This is a compulsory provision of the Code so in theory parents could apply to the Schools Adjudicator for enforcement. However, I am not aware of the Adjudicator making any decisions related to uniform so I don't know how effective this would be as a means of enforcement. If the Adjudicator considers a school's uniform policy to be outside their scope the government needs to change things so that there is effective enforcement.

OP, at least if you have 3 other children the items can be handed down. Hopefully they will be good enough quality.

Personally I like a smart uniform, within reason (no need for wool blazers - they're really pricey and need to be dry cleaned). They'll be wearing it every day so need to look and feel good in it and the really cheap ones look awful. Overall it's got to be a lot cheaper and less stressful than not having a uniform.

Have you checked to see if the school has a second hand shop?

£200 is believable. When my DD started secondary, the uniform + pe kit + other essentials we were told to buy (Like a French dictionary and scientific calculator) came to almost £350. Her school had regulation skirts, so everything apart from the shirts had to be bought from the specialist school wear shop.

Thankfully I have another DD to pass on to, but it is eyewatering. But late for you - but I bought a few items each month to spread the cost (uniform shop would swap clothes if they outgrew them over the summer provided you had receipt and kept labels on).

Academies can do what they like though can't they?

Just cut back as much as you can. No tracksuit bottoms for PE - just have shorts or skirt. Just three blouses and two trousers / skirts. That's what we had to do. One blazer etc

Academies can do what they like though can't they?

No they can't. They are subject to competition law which means deals with single suppliers are suspect, especially if the school is being paid by the supplier concerned. They are also required to conform to the Admissions Code so they must ensure that their uniform policies don't discourage parents from applying.

This is a massive bug bear of mine. Why should schools be allowed to charge so much for uniform! I can get a pack of two white polo shirts in Tesco for about £4, yet my school insists on having their shirts that have an embroidered logo on them at £12 each. I asked if I could buy the logo so I could sew it on myself but no that's not allowed! Considering how dirty a white polo shirt gets I would definitely need at least 4 which adds up at that price. I think it's about time Mumsnet did a campaign on this!

It's a rip off. My dd lost her PE kit about 2 weeks before the end of last term and I wouldn't get a new kit so soon before the holiday and she literally ended up having to do the lesson in her pants.