Cost of school uniforms

Imlj · 20 Mar 2018

The cost of moving schools is quite expensive. Both my daughter 14 and son 11 have recently started a new secondary school.

I had had to 2 full brand new uniforms which were far cheaper than I expected as blazers at there last school were £27 alone.

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Domh245 · 20 Mar 2018

Where I went to secondary school the prices were:

Blazer: £95
Tie: £6.50
Pullover: £27
Trousers: £30 (you had to wear the school trousers, which had a little LO embroidered just below the waistline, next to the pockets)
Bag: £25 for school bag, £7 for PE bag
PE Kit (vest, shorts, socks): £27.50
Rugby Kit (jersey, shorts, socks): £42
Other bits (Apron, Swimming Trunks): £13
For a Grand total of £273

Needless to say that the white shirts, black 'proper' shoes and grey socks were bought from elsewhere! Everyone bought one set of everything and stuck with it until the blazers were halfway up their arms and the trousers became ankle swingers before buying their next set of uniform. I think I made it through secondary school with about 3 sets of main uniform (Blazer, Tie, Jumper, Trousers), 2 sets of PE Kit and 1 set of Rugby Kit and then one more set of main uniform for Sixth form (with the Blazer costing about £20 more than the secondary school ones.)

Bletchleyite · 20 Mar 2018

I think state schools should be banned from requiring non generic clothing other than a cheap tie or badge. It’s outrageous what is charged.

Busaholic · 20 Mar 2018

My school uniform had to be bought at Harrod's, apparently, which was where I was unceremoniously dragged back in 1959. My aversion to the place was not helped by the Al Fayed ownership, but I did go there a couple of times about ten/fifteen years ago, but was able to resist buying anything other than lunch, which was actually rather nice though reassuringly expensive. :smile:

Lad Brookes · 21 Mar 2018

Domh245 said:
Where I went to secondary school the prices were:

Blazer: £95
Tie: £6.50
Pullover: £27
Trousers: £30 (you had to wear the school trousers, which had a little LO embroidered just below the waistline, next to the pockets)
Bag: £25 for school bag, £7 for PE bag
PE Kit (vest, shorts, socks): £27.50
Rugby Kit (jersey, shorts, socks): £42
Other bits (Apron, Swimming Trunks): £13
For a Grand total of £273

Needless to say that the white shirts, black 'proper' shoes and grey socks were bought from elsewhere! Everyone bought one set of everything and stuck with it until the blazers were halfway up their arms and the trousers became ankle swingers before buying their next set of uniform. I think I made it through secondary school with about 3 sets of main uniform (Blazer, Tie, Jumper, Trousers), 2 sets of PE Kit and 1 set of Rugby Kit and then one more set of main uniform for Sixth form (with the Blazer costing about £20 more than the secondary school ones.)

I think you went to the same school as me!

heart-of-wessex · 21 Mar 2018

And the amount of PE kits, uniforms and swimming kits I find when cleaning out school coaches is ridiculous! Most are never claimed back either, god knows how much it must cost the parents to replace them

BestWestern · 21 Mar 2018

Bletchleyite said:
I think state schools should be banned from requiring non generic clothing other than a cheap tie or badge. It’s outrageous what is charged.

Absolutely! Schools need to stop using uniform as some sort of vanity badge. It's utterly ridiculous that the most expensive aspect of sending your children to school is putting them in a uniform. It ultimately has no bearing on the educational process and means far more the head teacher and the governors than it does to any of the kids!

whhistle · 21 Mar 2018

I never had to wear a uniform.

My generation was the last of being able to wear whatever. The few years after I left primary, secondary and the college, they introduced uniforms.

While I understand form a bullying aspect, if everyone is wearing the same, nobody can be picked on if they're not wearing a label. But you can still tell poorer students who would not wear a label if they were wearing usual clothes.

I just don't see the need. Extra cost for not much gain.

goblinuser · 21 Mar 2018

whhistle said:
While I understand form a bullying aspect, if everyone is wearing the same, nobody can be picked on if they're not wearing a label. But you can still tell poorer students who would not wear a label if they were wearing usual clothes.

This is why uniform is good. Especially these days with all the expensive brands, non uniform will just segregate a school and affect the education of poorer students. Uniform gives the most equal platform possible, which is what school should be about.

whhistle · 21 Mar 2018

goblinuser said:
This is why uniform is good. Especially these days with all the expensive brands, non uniform will just segregate a school and affect the education of poorer students. Uniform gives the most equal platform possible, which is what school should be about.

No, it won't.
I watched poorer students in my class do better than some well off kids.

What you wear will not have any affect on how well you do at school.
Parenting however, will.

Plus, these days supermarket clothing is firmly acceptable to many middle/upper class people. Well designed, well made, pretty good all round. Do kids really care about labels on clothing these days? Or is it more about the gadgets or accessories they have?

Uniforms turn people into drones - all the same - no individuality, no personality and just a greater expense for parents.
But then we live in times where our schools look more like prisons with large fences around them, locking kids in and out. Feel bad for kids these days. School must be like prison. May as well get everyone wearing black and white striped uniforms.

goblinuser · 21 Mar 2018

whhistle said:
No, it won't.
I watched poorer students in my class do better than some well off kids.

What you wear will not have any affect on how well you do at school.
Parenting, however, will.

Plus, these days, supermarket clothing is firmly acceptable to many middle/upper class people.

Uniforms turn people into drones - all the same - no individuality, personality and just a greater expense for parents.
But then we live in times where our schools look more like prisons with large fences around them, locking kids in and out. Feel bad for kids these days. School must be like prison. May as well get everyone wearing black and white striped uniforms.

Whilst I agree the school system is broken, I disagree on your view on uniform.
Uniform makes school about educational achievement and removes any competition over consumer purchases by parents.
The student does not choose the financial situation of their family, so they should not be ostracised or excluded socially, which will affect their educational potential, simply for not having the latest expensive shoes from their parents.
I would also add that uniform is far cheaper than supplying your child with the latest clothes so they do not fall behind.

alxndr · 21 Mar 2018

goblinuser said:
Whilst I agree the school system is broken, I disagree on your view on uniform.
Uniform makes school about educational achievement and removes any competition over consumer purchases by parents.
The student does not choose the financial situation of their family, so they should not be ostracised or excluded socially, which will affect their educational potential, simply for not having the latest expensive shoes from their parents.
I would also add that uniform is far cheaper than supplying your child with the latest clothes so they do not fall behind.

And yet, despite having quite fussy uniform, it was still easy to tell on sight those who had money and those who didn't at my school.
It might be less subtle than it would have been in mufti, but little things such as wearing a slightly too small and faded blazer, a sleeveless jumper because the one with sleeves cost a tenner more, and style of footwear all add up to build an overall picture.

I'd argue that I'd have been better dressed in my own clothes than when I tried to turn a pair of my mother's navy shoes black with copious amounts of polish, and certainly would have been after the sole dropped off!

goblinuser · 21 Mar 2018

alxndr said:
And yet, despite having quite fussy uniform, it was still easy to tell on sight those who had money and those who didn't at my school.
It might be less subtle than it would have been in mufti, but little things such as wearing a slightly too small and faded blazer, a sleeveless jumper because the one with sleeves cost a tenner more, and style of footwear all add up to build an overall picture.

I'd argue that I'd have been better dressed in my own clothes than when I tried to turn a pair of my mother's navy shoes black with copious amounts of polish, and certainly would have been after the sole dropped off!

At least your shoes were only being compared to everyone else's boring black shoes which everyone hates rather than the guy with the brand new special edition nikes.

alxndr · 21 Mar 2018

goblinuser said:
At least your shoes were only being compared to everyone else's boring black shoes which everyone hates rather than the guy with the brand new special edition nikes.

I'd bet that a random pair of trainers in a sea of Nikes would draw less attention than a pair of twenty year old navy shoes with bits dropping off did in a sea of designer black ones.

PeterC · 21 Mar 2018

In my day uniform gave us something harmless to rebel against.

These days the low cost of clothing from Asian sweatshops means that schools are able to be far stricter over uniform than they were in my day in the 60s. My old school has switched from a custom royal blue blazer to generic black and got rid of the cap decades ago but everything else is far more prescriptive. Jumpers and Sports kit are no longer generic but have to have school badge embroidered while the kids are restricted to white shirts while we were allowed blue, white or grey.

Imlj · 21 Mar 2018

DarloRich said:
I assume it is a thicker hoodie type affair. I can see why that might be more than a plain school jumper from asda especially if it is branded with the school name/crest

Yes and kids burn through them, especially boys playing football in the school yard. They need to be proper good quality black shoes to last any time.

My son sometimes plays football in his and the pumps still seem ok don't think I need to buy them new ones until next September

Imlj · 21 Mar 2018

DarloRich said:
I assume it is a thicker hoodie type affair. I can see why that might be more than a plain school jumper from asda especially if it is branded with the school name/crest

Yes and kids burn through them, especially boys playing football in the school yard. They need to be proper good quality black shoes to last any time.

The school jumper and polo shirt have the school logo aswell as the pe jumper

whhistle · 21 Mar 2018

goblinuser said:
Whilst I agree the school system is broken,
The student does not choose the financial situation of their family, so they should not be ostracised or excluded socially, which will affect their educational potential, simply for not having the latest expensive shoes from their parents.

I understand where you're coming from.
But you'll still have the poor kids vs the rich kids. You can tell it in the way the person is, perhaps how they look (not clothes wise) or how well they can write.

Does the child have a Mars bar or a "Caramel Choc" <-- supermarket own brand.
Do they have free school meals? Do they have the latest pens? Or a decent pencil case? What about a phone? The latest model?
Kids will always find a way to pick on other kids. Clothing is one way but it's not particularly a driving force in bullying.

Uniform is great for respect and discipline but I just don't think it works very well. So much that it's not worth having.

But then I grew up in very liberal schooling. Never called a teacher "Miss" or "Sir". From Year 7 onwards, we called teachers by their first names. It worked really well; the school treated people like responsible young adults (IE, no uniform, teachers by first names - all very grown up) and that culture was promoted throughout the school.

yorkie · 21 Mar 2018

It is true some schools have items that are unjustifiably expensive. For example, the school in York that is regarded as the best, requires a jumper priced at £17, while a school that is not as good, but tries very hard to be seen to be, has a requirement to purchase a blazer priced at £32.50.

However it is very important that students do wear a uniform.

I don't really have the time or inclination to go through all of whhistle's points, but I'll just say that I strongly disagree with that post, and just about all credible evidence will support the use of a school uniform being a positive thing.

To quote just one article:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/oct/03/why-wear-school-uniform

Some people believe that a school uniform can improve learning by reducing distraction, sharpening focus on schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment, allowing students to perform better academically.

Perhaps most importantly, a uniform means students don’t have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn’t so important. There is no competition about being dressed in the latest trend, which would put a great deal of financial pressure on students and parents. Potential bullies have one less target for their insults; it’s hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you’re dressed exactly the same.

trash80 · 21 Mar 2018

Always laugh when one of the "benefits" of uniforms given is that is can stop bullying, certainly didn't stop it happening to me. I'd get rid of the sillier aspects of uniforms where children are expected to dress like 1950s sales reps.

cb a1 · 22 Mar 2018

My son's school (Dundee, Scotland) is very relaxed about uniform. I buy black trousers and white shirts out of charity shops and that's him sorted. School does offer blazers with school logo and ties but these are optional.

STEVIEBOY1 · 22 Mar 2018

When I was at school, in the 1960s/1970s the parents had to buy them from certain suppliers only, now days, as said above you can get the right uniform look from the likes of Asda/Tesco etc etc.

They did not mid too much if you did not wear a school blazer, but wanted us to at least have the correct coloured Shirts/white or Grey, Trousers/Grey or Black and Pullover/Black or Grey and a tie, preferably the school tie, which I don't think was that expensive, but if you did noit have a school tie any other was accepted. (However failure to wear a tie at all resulted in 2 strokes of the cane!!!!)

I don't like sweatshirts or fleeces, they seem to get very scruffy.

61653 HTAFC · 23 Mar 2018

My secondary school had a more lenient policy on uniforms than most others in the area: black or grey generic trousers/skirt, generic white or sky-blue shirt, black shoes (though even trainers were allowed if completely black), black jumper. The school tie was only required if wearing a v-necked jumper or no jumper: though this meant that in summer you couldn't remove your jumper unless you had a tie. I think I wore my tie once in 5 years, all other times I just had a round-necked jumper and suffered in summer! My brother and I discovered that you could actually get away with any shirt or polo-shirt as long as the collar was white, so Huddersfield Town replica shirts were often worn!

Apparently one of the reasons for the uniform was so that poorer kids weren't "shamed", but the policy was so lax at my school that it happened anyway.

STEVIEBOY1 · 23 Mar 2018

61653 HTAFC said:
My secondary school had a more lenient policy on uniforms than most others in the area: black or grey generic trousers/skirt, generic white or sky-blue shirt, black shoes (though even trainers were allowed if completely black), black jumper. The school tie was only required if wearing a v-necked jumper or no jumper: though this meant that in summer you couldn't remove your jumper unless you had a tie. I think I wore my tie once in 5 years, all other times I just had a round-necked jumper and suffered in summer! My brother and I discovered that you could actually get away with any shirt or polo-shirt as long as the collar was white, so Huddersfield Town replica shirts were often worn!

Apparently one of the reasons for the uniform was so that poorer kids weren't "shamed", but the policy was so lax at my school that it happened anyway.

We still had to wear a tie if we wore a round neck or a roll neck jumper (not that they were meant to be worn anyway, only vee neck) and the staff did check from time to time.

61653 HTAFC · 23 Mar 2018

STEVIEBOY1 said:
We still had to wear a tie if we wore a round neck or a roll neck jumper (not that they were meant to be worn anyway, only vee neck) and the staff did check from time to time.

When was this (if that's ok to ask... for avoidance of doubt it's fine if you'd prefer not to say)? As I'm asking that, I probably should have specified the time period I was referencing which is the mid-90s. As I said, even at the time my school seemed lax compared to others in the area. Jumpers bearing a school logo or crest were at most schools, and some even had blazers.

Even so, I now hate wearing formal dress as a grown-up, so I think I'd be even more of a slob if I'd gone to one of the other schools!

STEVIEBOY1 · 23 Mar 2018

61653 HTAFC said:
When was this (if that's ok to ask... for avoidance of doubt it's fine if you'd prefer not to say)? As I'm asking that, I probably should have specified the time period I was referencing which is the mid-90s. As I said, even at the time my school seemed lax compared to others in the area. Jumpers bearing a school logo or crest were at most schools, and some even had blazers.

Even so, I now hate wearing formal dress as a grown-up, so I think I'd be even more of a slob if I'd gone to one of the other schools!

Hi, as mentioned in post 22, I was at school in the 1960s to 1970s. As you will see, things were alot different then.

D365 · 23 Mar 2018

PeterC said:
These days the low cost of clothing from Asian sweatshops means that schools are able to be far stricter over uniform than they were in my day in the 60s.

Your first point should mean that the prices have come down significantly, but obviously the second puts paid to that. I find it’s effectively a backhand method of fundraising.

When it came to my secondary I was very well timed, as I had finished right before they introduced their own such blazers.

PeterC · 24 Mar 2018

STEVIEBOY1 said:
We still had to wear a tie if we wore a round neck or a roll neck jumper (not that they were meant to be worn anyway, only vee neck) and the staff did check from time to time.

In the 60s we were restricted to a colour range on jumpers but the only limitation on style was that the school tie must be visible. This resulted in boys wearing crew necks with the knot of the tie horizontal to sit on the neckline. As long as you had the regulation blazer and tie and for younger boys still the hated school cap they were far more relaxed about the rest of the outfit than schools seem to be these days.

STEVIEBOY1 · 24 Mar 2018

PeterC said:
In the 60s we were restricted to a colour range on jumpers but the only limitation on style was that the school tie must be visible. This resulted in boys wearing crew necks with the knot of the tie horizontal to sit on the neckline. As long as you had the regulation blazer and tie and for younger boys still the hated school cap they were far more relaxed about the rest of the outfit than schools seem to be these days.

Yes you tend to think school rules are more lax these days, but it is not always the case.

roversfan2001 · 24 Mar 2018

My school only had one supplier, which was about 3 miles away from the school. Jumpers at £20-30 a pop (different colour for Years 7-9 and 10-11), ties at a fiver each; then the year before I left they introduced blazers too (my year didn't have to buy them) which I think are the wrong side of £40. This was this decade.

The "it stops bullying" thing is a complete sham too; the kids who were obviously poorer were still noticeable and were still targeted for it. Uniforms are an unnecessary expense for parents.

Cost of school uniforms

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