school uniforms moan again

[hightara]

well, i have only three at school now

tára's uniform........ got shirts and skirts from asda (two of each) bargain..... but the school have a branded jersey and p.e uniform which will be fifty quid.

the other two, one going into grammar and the other one out grown everything. (and his uniform is so worn out it cant be passed down to his younger sibling)

im okay with the black trousers........ but heres the bad news

Tára.s                                                                                                                          £ 15.00 asda

                                                                                                                                      £ 50.00

BOYS 
Charcoal grey trousers                                                   x 2                                    £ 18.00   approx  
Yellow shirt  £10.00                                                         x 4                                    £  40.00
School tie                                                                                                                    £    6.00
Navy jumper with 2 yellow bars in V neck  £17.00     x 2                                    £  34.00
Beau Brummel School blazer ( £50.00) approx         x 2                                    £100.00

Black flat shoes Black flat shoes

School Raincoat £30.00                                                  x1                                     £  30.00

School PE Uniform: Top £26.00 – Shorts £11.00 – Socks £4.00 ( x 2   )        £  82.00

then its shoes, trainers, football boots and schoolbags................................... £100.00     at a guess.

total approx. without sundries and school fees                                                     £475.00

and i'm being conserative.

from the school site 

Failure to comply with uniform/appearance regulations will result in student being asked to remain at home.

without the......... you shouldnt have had so many kids ....... life was different when we had them.

why oh why do they not have a uniform we could buy cheaply without blerdy brand named stuff you can only buy in the school or one nominated shop.

moan over

[bitsnknots]

I know when I started at secondary school, there was only one shop that we could by the uniform from and it was the most expensive shop in town.  I'm an only child and, at the time, there was only my dad working so it was a lot of expense then on only one wage coming in.  We had a winter uniform, PE kit and a summer uniform, school mac and a school blazer as well.  I can definitely see where you're coming from Kate.

[cat-knitter]

Tara over here in the uk they have pages on FB called "for sale or free in ***** area"   insert your nearest main town in the blanks ..... you can also post WANTED ads on it ... maybe have a look & see if they have them near you, I'm sure other mums will have outgrown ones they maybe happy to pass on

[cat-knitter]

I forgot to say ............ Its lovely to see you posting again ...........

........ I've missed ya   

[****merlin*****]

when you compare it to buying more clothes for school, additional shoes etc its not an incredible amount. mine all had a strict uniform, and the head stood at the gate and checked them in, a uniform infringement meant you got sent home, and expected to return, as mine needed 2 trains to get there, they always made sure

the only thing i objected to was, no outer jackets to be worn over blazers, even in winter

school trips on the other hand......

£1500 for 5 days in France

[hightara]

thank you all for your responses........... but thankfully we can stretch to afford them.......... but why not have  standard black trousers etc etc............and maybe buy a different tie.

[stroppy*cow]

I was fortunate with daughter's school uniform, the only thing that I bought (apart from footwear) was the blazer badge and 2 ties. I made all the rest, including blazers, shirts, skirts, tracksuits, and sports kit. They were allowed plain navy cardigans, so I made them from sweatshirting. When she moved into 6th form, we were given the 6th form ties by some-one who was leaving.

Daughter was never a standard size, if you got a blazer that fit the hips, it came down to her knees and the sleeves hung down. If a shirt was the right size in the collar, it was far too big everywhere else, and she hated tight collars. Skirts that fit the waist and hips were far too long and she wore her skirts long.

Used to cost me a small fortune in socks, I used to buy a dozen identical pairs of men's black ankle socks every half term. The one job I really hated was sewing name tapes on to socks!

I agree that it is unrealistic to insist on jumpers etc. with special logos at inflated prices, and some of the specialist items of sports kit can be ridiculous.

When daughter was at school, the school used to sell off the contents of the lost property box at the end of term - you could often pick up a bargain.

I washed everything, including blazers and ties. Ties used to come up fine if you pulled them into shape when you took them out of the washer and then hung them on the radiator.

[mustard-tree]

I went to a secondary school where uniform was just navy skirt and blazer, and white shirt, summer it was navy and white striped dress.

As long as the colours were right, they could be bought anywhere.

Brother went to grammar, with brand name items from one expensive shop

Mum took the labels out of worn out and grown out of clothes, and put them into cheaper brands bought elsewhere

This is OK if you can match the colour

There was a school emblem on the pocket, Mum or me unpicked the whole pocket and reattached it to new blazer.

[bankhaunter]

Personally I think school uniform policies discriminate against those on lower incomes.

This government advice may be worth thinking about.

If you’re forced to buy uniforms from an expensive supplier, get advice from the Office of Fair Trading.

[tintinthegingertomcat]

I have got the same problem. My son will be in the final year at school as from September and since I purchased last year he is now basically too large for any items of uniform. I do tend to get the trousers shirts and jumpers from Primark, Asda or Tesco to try and keep costs down. Unfortunately my son's school blazer is of the green variety - so whilst Asda and Tesco etc stock black blazers the green one is hard to find. However I did find one in my local charity shop - so instead of paying £50 for the blazer I paid £5 which included the tie and badge.

As I am still out of work and on minimum benefits....yet again I have had to turn to my dad to pay for the uniform.....not something I wished to do but needs must and as I have not a penny piece spare and the total refit of uniform is going to be anything between £150-£200.

When my son was at primary school - the school jumper was blue with a logo on costing about £6 each - so I had a meeting with the head and said he would come to school in a blue jumper but that it would be WITHOUT the logo as I could buy 3 for £6 from a cheap outlet. I said I did not hold with having a logo on a jumper - that in no way stopped them from learning.

Unfortunately the schools have deals with local school outfitters and they charge up to three times as much as Primark do.

A child will learn the same whether or not he has the exact uniform or a substitute thereof.

I think it is time that we stopped paying for badges and logos....the school take a percentage of this.

[hightara]

its the boys stuff i am having an issue with...... you cannot buy the colours of their uniform anywhere, apart from trousers.

i did give the p.e. uniforms and jerseys into the charity shop belonging to the second fella which where in pristine condition.

dont get me wrong i am not against uniforms at all.......... its when they could simply have a tie to show what school they are from.

i am fortunate i can afford them (just).......... but how are people on benefits supposed to cope..... looked it up and i think they get

£70 approx.

[hightara]

sorry crossed posted this before i seen BH and Tomcats posts

[ginap.123]

Our council give vouchers for people on benefit & having had a friend who recently had to put in a claim for these I think our council must be very generous. The vouchers were for our local uniform shop, way out of our price league when mine were at school & that was with 2 of us working ( in fact I don't know anyone who used to buy at this shop because of it's high prices, Woolies had to do for us), & the vouchers used to cover everything, a couple of basic uniforms & sports kit, logo'd if needed. You never saw anybody in this shop for most of the year but you could tell the day everyone got thier vouchers in the post, the queue outside would be hundreds of yards long, I think that shop did a years worth of business during that day.
The only thing I had a problem with was my girls blazers. It wasn't black, it wasn't blue, it was flipping blue black! Could only get that from specialist shops.

[hightara]

try finding this anywhere 

[hightara]

[tintinthegingertomcat]

Personally I have always found buying for boys harder - be it high street retail, charity shops or even Ebay - girls choice of clothes always outweighs that of boys.

Unfortunately...after working for 30 years I was made redundant and am struggling to find another job (most people when I got to the Job Centre are 50 plus).

I am forced to live on Housing Benefit, JSA, tax credit and child benefit.....and before any body gets on their high horse....my outgoings per month (all the usual bills etc and NOTHING on the luxury list) are ALWAYS MORE than my income so each month I am forced to accept handouts from my dad.....just to keep me and son fed and housed.

Anyway...as far as I am concerned I am not entitled to vouchers so my poor dad has to buy them for me.

I hope Hightara you manage to get what you want. I shall be shopping in Primark and the charity shops....but hey I would rather money went to charity than the proper shops.

To a degree I agree with uniforms so that all the kids look the same and you know where they attend. It is the monopoly that some school shops have - ban the logo and let all school children go to school in clothes that can be purchased anywhere rather than the selected few shops.

[*chez*]

Son's school has just gone to an academy and made changes to the uniform but most parents were pleasantly suprised..

Black trousers/skirts.. from anywhere..

white shirt/blouse... from anywhere.

Blazer ( blue with badge)  £20 from school

Tie.. £3.50  from school.

black shoes.

pe shirt with logo  £7.00

black shorts/joggers.. from anywhere

The first blazer and tie were provided and the new year 7;s could  buy one for £10 in June/July

[ginap.123]

Real combination there Tara

Tintin, I wonder if the voucher recipients/amount is set by the local council or from other agencies. Or whether it's certain benefits that you need to be claiming. I had heard once that it was Income Support only but my friend was on JS like you

[captainbovine]

I agree with school uniform, but I don't agree with embroidered jumpers etc. This goes against the principle of every child being on an even keel with their clothing. The poorer parents find it hard to purchase the logo'd stuff.

when I was at school the uniform was just a basic colour, you had to buy the tie and the badge for the blazer but that was it. You could buy the dresses made up or just the fabric.

[chickengrandma-2008]

When I was at school everything had to be precise, even underwear, and socks and shoes and that included blazer, gaberdine mac, felt hat, and brown leather satchel, and that was 55 years ago!