School shoes- boy starting y7

[Psst1980]

My 11 year old is worrying about getting the “right” school shoes. He likes to be on trend, he’s active and sporty. He’s been wearing black airforce at primary as have all his mates.

The secondary school he will be attending have a strict uniform policy- no trainers or ‘trainer style’ (not even ones that could be polished- so airforce are out!) no boots and need to be black. What to buy?!
He’s got annoyingly narrow feel too🤦🏻‍♀️

My son is the same and the school says no brands. Although quite a few wear kickers or these from next;

They all wore black air force at my child’s secondary. They were made part of the approved uniform.

I don't think boys particularly care about others' shoes as long as they are plain, black, lace ups. (Perhaps steer clear of the dinosaurs and flashing lights lol!).

Bags on the other hand ...

My lad went for Dr Martens when trainers were banned at his school.

Has to be kickers, please no Clarks.

The secondary school I work at, the kids couldn't give a toot what shoes they wear. They only care about when they can get out and play football/basketball

Your son's secondary school are probably like the majority throughout the country, so it's not unusual. My son's secondary school is strict on shoes, they essentially must look like shoes - no trainers, no trainers style and no boots. I buy my son Clarks shoes, and to be honest most parents buy Clarks, Next or Startrite. All the boys have to wear black shoes, so most are wearing more or less identical schools! 🤣 There's no real scope to look 'cool' or to wear the 'right shoe'. It's a case of buying what's suitable, in the right size, that's not going to cost the earth. My son basically got told, these are the shoes you can choose from, you have to pick one, there's no other option.

Ours aren’t allowed trainers or any brands, so kickers etc are out. Clarks are a no no for secondary. Nothing Velcro either as majorly uncool apparently. My lad has some from Schuh with laces, same as his friends

I wasn't sure when DS started year 7 on how strict school would be (the policy sounded strict!) so I bought something like these. Sort of cheapish but comfy, flexible soled active looking plain black shoes. I told him if it was a massive issue I'd get him something else as they weren't expensive. He was fine with them and found that nobody really looked at each others shoes so wore them till they got holes in. The next time I got him these as he said lots of others had them and now he wears these which also seem to be acceptable at the moment despite the apparently strict policy. If there's a school FB group or second hand group you could post on there and ask parents what their kids wear?

M&S has got loads of older boys’ smart school shoes sized 2-9 and they are all leather.

M&S has got loads of older boys’ smart school shoes sized 2-9 and they are all leather.

There are also a few similar styles like this on the photo as well.

I work in a secondary school and I don’t think boys are too bothered about their school shoes. They tend to all look the same to me, unbranded.

Best thing to do is see if you can ask other parents on a Facebook group for parents or the local area. Some schools are much stricter than others. My son needs a separate defined heel on his shoes which can be a pain as flat soles seem to be the fashion, even in smart mens shoes many don't have a defined heel at the moment.
They used to have a no patent rule but then girls shoes all had patent toes and it was next to impossible to buy girls shoes that met the uniform policy and they changed it the next year. I think nearly all girls ended up with the one pair in Clarks that was acceptable.

He's 11. He will have outgrown the shoes in no time.
Boys’ School Shoes at M&S
Boys' School Shoes - Black Leather School Shoes | Clarks UK
Boy's School Shoes | Uniform Shoes | Next UK

Well, he’s hoping for a growth spurt, he’s very tiny. Wears out clothes and shoes before growing out of them, bless him. Actually might be part of his fear…stuck with the same ‘geek’ shoes until year 11 😆

Thanks all, after much chat in the boys WhatsApp group they’ve all ordered a similar shoe (no room for individuality in their group!). Some lace up semi-pointy style that will be awful for the hours of football they will play 🤦🏻‍♀️👍
Perfect… I’ll be back on here before October half term looking back at your sensible recommendations for sturdy, long lasting shoes 💙

I don't understand the brands thing - isn't Schuh as much a brand as kickers? I find schools' thinking on this stuff really weird.

My fashion-conscious son has some pointy ones from Next and my other son has some nice comfy ones from Schuh (Rami Derby).
We have visited a LOT of shoe shops!

They do leather-upper ones too, I switched to them for primary school after finding Clarks just weren’t lasting.

Kickers every time

My daughter's secondary has a no kickers rule & no DMs unless they have black soles & stitching.

Every single part of the shoe has to be black according to our uniform policy & it's quite strictly enforced.

My son had these in Year 7 and I have got him a new pair for Year 8 - also a strict policy at his school.

Yes next have a good selection of shoes

A lot of the boys at my dc school wear those awful slip on loafers. Very un trendy in my eyes but it seems to be what they go for. I got my ds a pair of £15 ones from Shoezone and was pleasantly surprised at how long they lasted.

My son wears slip ons from Next - he's wore them y7, 8,9,and will probably get the same for y10. They do different fits. He's very fussy about his shoes - but more for sensory/comfort reasons than brands. They do 2 similar slip ons - he wears the chunkier ones.