What shoes/bags are cool for Year 7?

[ErickBroch]

Hi! My brother starts year 7 in September. He is autistic and very nervos about starting for a multitude of reasons. I wanted to ask what shoes/rucksacks are popular right now for teens in senior school?

His school allows shoes like kickers and trainers that are leather look.

I haven't been to school in a very long time so have no idea what is cool right now - he just doesn't want to stand out!

Would love to hear your thoughts - thank you

oh dear. We had no uniform policy at my secondary school and I dressed like Madonna most days. I expect my children to stick to the uniform rules, especially for shoes, but I just don't see the point of nagging them about top button or blazer off on the way back from school. If someone can actually prove to me that having a top button done is going to make a difference to their academic achievement or their behaviour, then fine. But fact is, it doesn't. Chill.

Sorry for coming back so late everyone but thank you for all your replies. They are beyond helpful and provided great ideas!! Thanks so much

Also regarding following uniform rules... the school rules for footwear ARE that they can have black leather-look trainers. So it's not breaking rules, it's part of the uniform code.

Hi, my ds is 15 and my dd is 12.
Our school has a policy that says the footwear have to be all black ( soles included ). They all wear Nike runners that are all black.
The school bags they go for are the Jansport ones ( to be fair, they're a bit expensive but they are such good quality and they'd definitely last at least 3 years ).Just black or navy, not the patterned or multicolored ones, God forbid that they'd stand out !
Secondary school can be difficult to navigate , your brother is lucky to have you looking out for him .
It is all about blending in and staying under the radar, unfortunately.
I try to encourage my ds and dd to be themselves, wear what they want to ( outside school ) to Express themselves, but they're not ready for that yet. They just want to blend in .

@Designerenvy thanks for the tips. I left school 10 years ago so I do understand a lot of it but obviously trends move fast. I dressed more individually in year 10/11 which I think is pretty normal, definitely not in my first few years

My yr7 ds has a black nike rucksack and he wore the clarks velcro shoes he had in year 6. I asked him before he started year 7 if he wanted to get lace up ones but he was happy with the velcro ones. My yr10 ds wears clarks lace ups.

I think it's a real misconception that only more able children may not be abled to fulfil their full potential at school. I find it incredibly sad that many parents of high achievers keep on coming up with 'fulfilling full potential' for more able children when really, this should be much more common language for children who are actually struggling at school, those who have learning disabilities or behaviour problems.

I have one DS who is a top achiever at school, in every subject but particularly in maths, yet we have avoided imposing any competitivity on him. I just think it's not healthy for the child. We just know he is a high achiever because of his exam results, SATS, CATS score, routine tests at school on which he scores extremely high, consistently. There probably are kids who have better grades than him but it does not matter.

Ah Ah I have just posted a long message on the wrong post I am so sorry!

Fjallraven Kanken definitely! You can get them from eBay for about 25 quid. Loooooooads of colours to choose from too.

I’ve never seen a secondary school boy with a kanken.

We got school bags for my current year 6 and Yr 8 boys ready for September. They chose Nike and Kings Will Dream bags both were from Footasylum.

No trainers allowed at their school so they got normal school shoes

Ds is 15, definitely black Nike air force and a Nike or Adidas bag is fairly standard and 'cool' amongst the boys.
You're a lovely sister.