school shoes - help!

[queenofthebongo]

Hi. I have an elongated 13 yr old who will need school shoes for September. He has had Clarks forever but is now a size 9 with fairly narrow feet. I don't want him to wear men's hard shoes, but he will need fairly scuff-proof shoes with a chunkyish sole for comfort. Where can I get such a pair that won't cost me the earth - and that is not totally uncool?
Thanks.

I don’t know what you mean mens hard shoes really. What type was he wearing before?

DS was very heavy footed and was wearing though a pair a term until I bought him some DM style ones from Amazon. They were this type, I didn’t think they were hard.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grafters-Leather-Uniform-Nitrile-Numeric_8/dp/B09VZ1SDKY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=29XDIDUSI9I0W&keywords=air+cushion+sole+mens+leather+shoes+shoes&qid=1691685946&sprefix=air+cushion+sole+mens+leather+shoesshoes%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-5

By hard I mean those super thin soled men's suit shoes. I did think dm's or kickers but they are so expensive! I'll look at your link , thanks.

The look great, thank you. You can see the cushioning!

StartRite do their boys school shoes cup to a 12. The bigger sizes are not at all babyish here. Bear in mind their sizes come up a bit smaller than Clark's - a 9 in Clarks is a 9.5 in SR.

I'm looking for size 14 shoes for DS (14), so thank you @Theyrethreetheyresixtheyreninetheyreeight .

Here to express sympathy - I have the opposite problem, finding acceptable school shoes for a 17yo girl with wide size 3-3 1/2 feet! Very relieved this is the last time I'll have to find this particular unicorn.