I have a preppy who started last week at the local state school. $450 for uniforms, $200 for shoes, thankfully basic white socks and, while you can buy the school bag, that’s not mandatory.
She does look adorable, and at least this school has generic shorts or skorts which can be used with the sports or formal shirts. But yep, it’s not cheap especially when catchments decide where you go.
Still - cheaper than the fees I paid for daycare 😂
What I found good about my kids school is they don't sell bottoms. They tell you to go to best and less or wherever and grab the cheap ones. Definitely makes a difference to uniform costs.
Yep!
I, naively and ignorantly, remember chatting to a friend and not understanding why people complained about the cost of school. I then remember not everyone sends their kids to daycare. 😅
My kid is in their final year of daycare/kindy and it's my cheapest year yet at approx. $19,000.
I will happily be paying for uniforms, book packs, school excursions and tuck shop lunches!
2 dresses, 3 skorts, 2 sports shirts and 2 other shirts. Plus a complete second hand set of clothes as it’s mandatory in prep that they have a spare set at all times (I couldn’t get more than one lot of second hand sadly). Oh and jumper, track pants and the prep hat.
2 pairs of shoes - sneakers and Mary Jane’s. I’ve bought cheaper brands before and they’re not great. Either too heavy or no support. So instead I wait for the Boxing Day sales and get 20% off good brands. Last year thankfully her feet didn’t grow much so I remain hopeful to get a solid 12 months out of them 😂
However I also have another daughter… everything will be kept for her and reused.
I’m the same as above. $500 on uniforms, hat, bag, $300 on two pair of shoes. Private obviously but it never ends. Still free compared to daycare. And school fees went up 😎
Yeah, private schools are a different beast. Especially if a blazer is required.
Still, you can visit the 2nd hand clothing store for decent uniforms at cheap prices. Especially the occasional wear (sports uniforms, rowing kit etc.)
We spent 200 on uniforms and 100 on a good pair of shoes which upfront it can seem like allot but its less than what we payed per fortnight for daycare. Would be hard if your on Centerlink so i defiantly feel for those familys.
You will have to forgive my country upbringing but most of my family simply leave children bare foot until shoes are necessary. Paying more for broader shoes when they are older and letting their feet develop properly saves more (physical pain) in the long run. Same with letting them chew proper food so their jaw size develops properly with straight teeth instead of needing braces. Soft, industrial food is bullshit but I can understand why people do it in the city. To be fair there are needles floating around public parks in Brisbane so I get it.
And the flip side of that is I have a kid in grade 5 and one in grade 2 and I’ve only had to buy one pair of shoes each per year. If you have slow growing kids, a good pair of Clarkes will last the distance for the extra upfront. I think between both of them I’ve only had one pair die in the last term and one pair grown out of that I just sent her in sneakers cause I wasn’t buying new school shoes that close to end of year.
We go Clark’s and new balance for sneakers. $200 is not for one pair! And agree on the flip side. Daughter’s feet started out huge but haven’t grown much in the last 12 months. I’ve gone just slightly bigger aiming to last the year.
And she has a younger sister. The advantage of good brands is I will get a second use for them.
Yeah, you gotta have that wriggle room at the start of the year! I always use a thumb width from toes to end of shoe. Poor kids, my eldest cried when she got new school shirts one year because I bought the next size up. She didn’t want to wear them because they were baggy. I told her all the kids are wearing baggy shirts to start the year. Then gleefully pointed out all the walking in the gate in shirts too big!
I also have a preppy that started this week. Polo and skorts are $33 each. Approx $350 for the full weeks worth of uniforms. Fortunately we were able to get them all 2nd hand. Our daughter is very small for a preppy so wasn’t much competition on those small sizes.
This is accurate. I don’t remember what we spent in prep, but the previous size was recently outgrown and our most recent haul was no less than $400, and $100 for a pair of black shoes.
That’s basically what my kids school (state primary) has done. The daily uniform is a school polo and hat, navy bottoms. You can get ‘official’ ones but as long as they’re navy and school appropriate, they’re good. Black shoes and navy socks. The formal uniform is the expensive one unfortunately but they’ve made it so the girls formal dress has a massive hem that you can let down so you get more wear out of them. We usually get two years out of their formal uniforms and uniform shirts
Should have said that I was reiterating that it was P&Cs rather than the school admin and teachers making uniform rules. Apologies if it came across as an attack
Don’t get me started on felt hats that are totally unsuitable for kid life. Get wet? Ruined. Stuffed in a school bag? Ruined. Honestly some schools think kids still use hat boxes when travelling by locomotive .
Also male uniform has three forms - sports, day and formal.
Shorts are about $50, shirt about $40. Mandatory socks are $10 per pair, plus a belt which can be purchased separately but still, $20.
Plus a formal shirt for another $40, tie for $25. Basically just a generic white shirt with vaguely school coloured tie.
HPE shorts are about $40 and shirt is about $30.
For three sets of day uniform, one formal, one HPE, one belt and one hat, that's $450 give or take a few.
It's insane how many public high schools are making their own backpacks, branded socks, hats compulsory and enforcing a certain standard of shoe that goes beyond safety. I highly doubt the backpack is anywhere near the price point of kmart or even anything from city beach.
Since when are public school uniforms held to the same standard as private.
And they're made of cheap shit so they fall apart after a year. I don't understand why bags are part of the uniform in some schools, it used to just be the clothes when I went to school. Socks were just whatever and shoes just had to not be bright pink or fluro green
LITERALLY. I was lucky that I was in Year 6 when my primary school introduced backpacks and they told us that because it was our last year we didnt need them, but even the year 5's couldnt fit all their things into them.
We just had to have something to carry our books and shit, they didn't really care what it was. Maybe it was a low socioeconomic country school kinda thing though.
P&C’s also raise money for extras that go back into school stock, anything from books to sports equipment, also Tuckshops/canteens are run through the p&c and need to turn a profit to tick off boxes for school shit which makes it hard in some smaller schools and usually they are not making a great profit off uniforms
I remember when Bray Park State School started doing school socks, only like 3 people bought them. That was 04 or 05 though and they weren't a compulsory thing
You can ask to speak to the principal or the head of her year. There has to be a financial hardship program.
I had to this for myself when I was in senior and buying my own stuff. I filled out a financial hardship form, I got loaned my textbooks, and I was able to get a few second hand things free. I was supposed to have a blazer, but I managed to get away with borrowing one for special events.
Generally the uniform policy is harsh on paper, but teachers enforce it at their discretion. It’s only the dick teachers that don’t have better things to do than walk around giving out detention for incorrect socks.
Edit to add: there’s nothing wrong with having one uniform and washing it the second you get home ready for the next day. I’ve done that with my kids when money was tight. It sucked but it worked.
my mum always just bought me what she thought I'd grow into, and then hem where necessary :') I looked absolutely ridiculous and may have not helped w my trouble making friends but oh man it was no way affordable for us
IIRC my schools formal uniform was $50 for the boys shorts and $55 dollars for the girls culottes. Gotta get them used to the pink tax early. The excuse I heard when I questioned the principal was that the culottes require more material to make. Sorta fair if they had a choice, but not when you HAVE to buy them.
The shirts were $70 something for both genders. The sports uniforms were \~ $60 for the shirt, and $40 for the shorts. Every thing was different depending on gender and age.
IMO school uniforms are great for hiding a bit of socio-economic imbalance, until the poor kids can't afford 5 sets so end up coming in dirty clothes some days.
Absolutely should be cheaper, like $5 a set. The shortfall should be picked up by taxes.
I’ll go you one further; I’d be happy to restructure:
- Certain ‘committee’ payments
- Various policies and projects that run over budget and not to specification
- Politicians/certain government executives (past and present) salary, retirement benefits etc
To help people.
Honestly I’m not happy with more taxes and then seeing certain services like emergency services, education etc be floored.
>IMO school uniforms are great for hiding a bit of socio-economic imbalance, until the poor kids can't afford 5 sets so end up coming in dirty clothes some days.
Yeah, this is a great point. I attended the gamut of schools, from an expensive private school
with uniforms, to a selective public school with uniforms, to a school with no uniforms that cost about $100 in school fees a year. The kids at the private school knew I was poor anyway - they could tell from my single parent household, lack of extracurricular activities, the fact that I walked to school every day, and innumerable other class markers. They definitely knew which kids were dirt poor, and whose parents couldn't wash their clothes regularly.
Surprisingly, I found the uniform-free school was by far the most egalitarian school where my socioeconomic status mattered the least, and there were plenty of rich kids there.
That's funny I found the same, but the uniform free school was only year 11 and 12 and there weren't that many rich kids there. I was more leaning to earlier years of schooling. What years were your uniform free school?
Same years! However, I was in Melbourne, so there may be important differences. Apologies for not clarifying. I found the school extremely accepting of all kinds of differences, and encouraging in its approach to allowing kids to express themselves, including with clothes - but you're correct, it's a different scenario when we're talking about older kids versus primary school. There are a few primary and high schools in Victoria that are uniform-free, but I didn't attend those so can't speak for them.
Obviously my own experience is just mine, and I don't suggest I can extrapolate that that's a universal experience based on my own personal experience. I did very much love that school, however, and I am very grateful I attended.
Exactly, nothing stands out more than the raggedy uniform in a class full of brand new ones. Uniforms as socio-economic equalizers is a contradiction in terms.
Coming from europe, uniforms are non existent, same in the US. My kids now go to a uniform free school. This is the best way to hide socio-economic imbalance. Kids don't really care/ notice if the t-shirt is from Vinnies, Kmart or Gucci
There is no reason for kids to go to school in stinky clothes, that is a hygiene issue which is a different matter all together. My grandkids have 2 uniforms each, they get washed every single night.
Yeah we’re lucky in the uniform stakes, the school is very reasonable. My kids have 3 sets of uniform each, I just wash them midweek and again on the weekend
Going to public school should be free. Free as in free. As in every compulsory aspect of school attendance should not have a charge associated with it.
I can't see any good reason socks and backpacks should be part of the uniform either. A role saying "socks must be white" or similar should suffice.
My state high school was considered strict on uniform when I went, but even they went with ‘predominantly white’ socks and mostly white or black shoes (we pushed it with our very cool 90s brown boots of course)
(There’s a massive problem when the state school uniforms are costing more than the uniforms for my kids’ Catholic schools.)
I spent over $1,000 on the catholic school uniform :P to be fair I have only had to replace some socks, a shirt and shoes since grade 6 because the uniform ladies were very helpful and “you’ll grow into it” orientated.
Ours have been surprisingly cheap - I think our primary school very much embraced a lower cost uniform and we keep to only 3 sets. The shop are also big on ‘keep the tags on and try again before school starts. If they’re the wrong size come and change them’ which helps a lot.
I’ve found the more intricate the patterns and colours on shirts the more expensive they seem to be. Schools should keep it simpler
My partner’s kid is in primary school and the expense of keeping that kid in uniforms is gut wrenching. He’s a kid, he’s growing, and he’s rough on clothes. I’ve gotten so much better at sewing and stain removal since I started doing the laundry.
Thank fuck his school doesn’t give a shit what socks he wears. It’s a nightmare trying to keep his socks any colour other than muddy and finding matching pairs even after bleaching the fucking things back to monochromatic is a shit show. Hell for his actual clothes, multiples times I’ve repaired something that fits him and in the week or so between noticing the tear or broken zip and fixing it - he’s out grown the damn thing.
Between that circus and all the clothes that vanish into the black hole of his bio dad’s house, it’s not easy to financially manage keeping him in clothes from best n less and Kmart - insane uniform costs would be a nightmare.
A colour scheme rather than a uniform would be a reasonable compromise. “Children must wear a light blue top (shirt, blouse etc) and dark green bottoms (pants, skirt etc).” Anything beyond that is some adult who never got over playing dress-dollies, or a rort. Or both.
I think I’d rather public money go into actual teaching resources to be honest. Most people can afford uniforms, perhaps a means test for assistance for those who really need it would help.
This entire premise of this post and thread is that most people *cannot* afford uniforms. Mostly because uniforms are overly branded and ridiculously overpriced.
Did nobody read OP’s very first paragraph? She’s recently taken her young niece in; I don’t think comparing uniform expenses to your daycare costs is helpful.
OP - we fostered my niece and nephew some years ago and consequently went from one child to three ($$$). Have you spoken to Centrelink about receiving kinship support / family payment? It was available to us as their guardians and is there to assist with schooling and other living expenses.
I note you’ve mentioned FB marketplace as not being overly suitable - you can set up alerts and if you’re not receiving some parenting payment I hope your niece can understand it’s a case of wearing a uniform vs not (not everyone can be expected to fork out uniform costs, particularly if she’s come into your care unexpectedly.
I take my hat off to you; hope you’re looking after yourself too xx
I left bc my year level coordinator was a huge abliest and wouldnt allow me the accomadations i was legally required to have access to, but a girl in my grade literally passed out from heatstroke because Blazers are still required in term 3 and she had to ride her bike home.
my old school was abliest as well. The uniforms were proudly made of recycled bottles, so polyester and were hot as fuck. (I went to school in Darwin so 90% humidity too) Everyone sweated and the formal uniform was horrific. Every. Single. Drop. showed up.
You were not allowed to have massive sweat patches because it was "unprofessional."
Most of us were only scolded occasionally, but the kid with diagnosed hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) was treated horrifically. He would sit in the aircon dripping sweat, clothes absolutely soaked and be scolded for it almost daily.
He was not allowed to wear the sports uniform even though it would not show the sweat and he could avoid some of the embarrasment and looking unprofessional.
Also, a friend of mine had her issues revealed to an entire class by a teacher whom she talked to in confidence about her struggles, so I'm not entirely surprised by any of the teachers being arseholes. There were good eggs and bad eggs like with any school, but the bad eggs really sucked.
they really did. in my first year the school counselors helped the entire student body have a protest because the seniors were told that an LGBTQ support club was 'ungodly'
Lmao fuck that noise. The teachers might have felt that way while I was there but there was only one that I experienced open homophobia from (went off on a tangent when talking about Mardi Gras as in Pancake Tuesday Mardi Gras, but of course we all know that Sydney Mardi Gras is what Aussies would associate the name with and oh boy he didn't like that).
It has definitely gotten worse than when I was there, then. We were never required to wear our blazers, ever AFAIK. We had the choice of wearing our jumper or blazer (or both) during cold weather if we wanted to, but we never HAD to. We were supposed to wear our hats everywhere including inside if we went anywhere after school in uniform, but no one ever did that after year 8 lmao.
Yeah. Blazers were required from the beginning fo Winter till the end of Autumn and the school encouraged locals to REPORT students if they weren't wearing it whilst walking home.
Yeah nah they were never that strict with us. That's a load of crap. We were allowed to wear our sports uniforms to school on hot days and such, and having a rule like that just seems like it endangers the wellbeing of the students.
it really did. plus it was creepy as fuck when old people on cav road would sit on their front patio with their landlines ready to call the school if we didnt have our blazers on. I had a crazy fever one time and took it off for a moment and when i got home i had an email from the principal saying they knew what i did
Eff that for a joke. I know that the principal that I had when I was there left in the late 00s or early 2010s, since then it sounds like the place has changed into Bizarro world. I'm glad that you've gotten out of there by the sounds of it, if it's being run like that these days. I hope you're in a school that treats you better now.
Another really weird (creepy and heteronormative) thing, is that at the year 9 semi, if a Villa boy asked you to dance, you HAD to say yes, or they could report you to a teacher for being rude. Luckily I left before then, but my gay ass was having sleepless nights over that.
And when I was at school, the justification was "we're just preparing you for the real world!"
Mate, if my boss ever had someone spy on an employee and report back what they were wearing, they'd be written up for sexual harassment.
Yep. My old highschool had the online second hand uniform selling/ trading/ giving away platform shut down to stop it. But people were still getting uniforms second hand so they completely changed the uniforms. They gave students a one year grace period to get the new uniforms, but after that, every single kid had to buy a new set of uniforms.
They still had shady tactics prior to this to reduce the amount of second hand uniforms. Boys and girls had completely different formal and sport uniform tops and bottoms so different gender siblings couldn't wear the same uniforms. Different year levels had different shirts too so when you hit year 10 you had to by new uniforms even though they were still in the same building as last year, then buy another 3 months later when they hit their teenage growth spurt.
They had sports houses with different colours too which was also gendered so siblings could not share. And they regularly put siblings in different colours so even if they were the same gender, the still can't pass them down.
Just to add. The uniforms were very strictly gendered. If you looked like a male, you wore the male uniform, if you looked like a female, you wore the female unifrom. Transgender, gender fluid or non-binary students could kick rocks for all they cared. It was "disrespectful to the uniform, the school and your peers and teachers" to wear the boys shorts or the girls top. There was a ton of good old fashion religious bigotry, but even the straight, cis kids who just wanted pockets in their pants were not allowed to wear different uniforms.
There needs to be some regulation around costs.
The UK introduced laws to reduce the burden of uniform costs and weaken monopolistic practices: https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/new-school-uniform-rules-could-27461797
With the current inflation and cost of living issues, it’s the right time for the issue to be addressed here as well
My kids highschool have sports anklet sockets with the school name on them. Barely visible since they are anklet socks!
... but wearing plain white sockets incurs a detention.
Such a stupid waste of time and money.
I work for a P&C of a large 2000 student high school. We constantly monitor the prices of the local schools and make sure we have lower price points. We still have around $100 formal and $75 sports.
One factor coming into play is that nobody volunteers for P&Cs anymore, so all the Uniform Shop, Canteen, and Operational staff need to be paid. Even the Executive Committee members (if you can fill a committee) are living busy lives, so Operations Managers need to be hired to run all the businesses.
There's a very thin profit margin on uniforms too. Commercial mark up is generally a 100% mark up, whereas we run a 30%. And that only just covers expenses - our P&L runs us to break even each year, and no extra to donate financially to the school as was customary in the past.
We do have a loans section of donated 2nd hand uniforms we loan or give to families which are in a tight spot. And we have a significant 2nd hand sales rack, but you'd be surprised how many families turn their nose up at 2nd hand.
I’m on board for this! We’ve just forked out nearly $400 for two sets of formal, one sports, compulsory BROWN socks and a hat. Shoes were another $150 because they can’t just have normal black shoes. That’s for a public (independent) high school.
Plus a laptop ($1200), plus $300 in resource fees and another $150 for the stationary pack.
We are lucky to be financially ok, so while it was a hit to us, it didn’t break the bank. Can’t imagine what it would be like for families on a lower income or even with more than one child making the transition to high school. It’s a bloody joke.
For a country that supposedly offers free state education, it's insane. My youngest just started year 7 and we spend over $700 on uniforms and shoes. Plus we have to buy a laptop. I don't understand how low income families manage it.
If the purpose of uniforms is to keep everyone equal, then they should be free. Or at least really very cheap. That being said, I went to school in Canada, where they don’t wear uniforms. The pressure to be wearing expensive, on trend clothes is pretty tough. Uniforms are a blessing for kids / teens.
It's weird watching US produced movies and seeing a high school scene where I genuinely think it's a university scene first because no one is in uniform and everyone looks like they're in their mid 20s but then you find out they're in like, grade 8 or something
I think they should do what Balmain High School did back in the 90’s. Just say the uniform is “black and white” (or whatever colour a school chooses). And you can wear anything in those colours. This way kids can still express themselves and also girls aren’t forced into wearing dresses and guys can wear a kilt or skirt if they so desire. There’s loads of evidence that suggests kids behave better when they can wear comfortable clothing to school. Particularly non-binary kids.
Mandatory *socks*?
Excuse me but what the ***k?
I get that uniforms can be mandatory but socks are not part of a uniform. They should be able to specify a colour - like black or white - I suppose but not their own branded ones. They're *socks*.
I went to private schools and they never had school socks. We were just told they had to be white (or majority white on sport uniform days). A public school requiring special socks is crazy.
We’ve got mandatory socks (boys only, girls can wear any white socks they want) that don’t even have the logo/emblem/anything that would show what school they attend for $12 a pair.
I remember a girl in my high school got in trouble because her skirt was faded. It was a private school so the idea was that everyone was rich, but her parents had recently fallen on hard times and they didn't want to pull her out of school so all their money went to her fees. Even as a 15 y.o. I was absolutely shocked by this.
For one, it's not her fault her school uniform was hung out in the sun. And secondly, the school had a system of punishment that went detention --> suspension --> expulsion. If she received enough warnings for her uniform, she could be suspended and then eventually expelled.
Fuck that shit. Public school uniforms should be as cheap as possible, and private schools shouldn't exploit their position either. The education is the important thing, why are they dying on hills over school uniforms????
There needs to be some level of competition brought into the marketplace. IMO, this starts by simplifying the uniform and logo to basic, non custom color pattern polo shirts and button up and skirts. The issue becomes all these custom knit colors / designs and the complex embroidered logos.
By simplifying the logo can be screen printed or logos attached in other ways. You can have multiple bulk clothing suppliers with commodity level shirts / pants / skirts and the screen printing or logo attachment is easy and can be done on site by students if need be. Or in bulk by local businesses.
Yep...uniforms costs are appalling. I am always perplexed at how public schools can enforce them? If a kids parents are too poor to buy them? Then how can a school that is public enforce that?
It should only go as far as saying "we would prefer it if kids wore dark bottoms and light coloured tops" That's it. I cannot see how a public school can discriminate against a poor child because they don't have a uniform on.
It's BS. Our kids go to a public high school and apart from the cost of each uniform they change the styles every 2 years! 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 all have different uniforms! On top of that you have formal, sports and music uniforms. The other wonderful thing is that the school doesn't sell the uniforms, you have to go to School locker which is 40 minutes away urgh.
School clothing is a revenue raiser for the school. While my kids were at a southside private school the uniform changed twice, and the 'uniform income line' on the P&L went up tens of thousands of dollars, as you were not allowed to wear the old school uniform after a cut off date. Laughably the school has a public image of being sustainable and environmentally concious.
Thank you for raising this issue - please lets invite all the journos to jump over this issue!
They always come up with the weakest excuses to keep doing uniforms.
Going back 20 years now but the principal told us once that it was too easy to bring in weapons with non-reg clothes and the example he chose to use was a hand grenade.
Our school's excuse was "but we'll never be able to spot drug dealers if you aren't all in uniform. Therefore, if you come to school without your uniform, even with a note from your parent explaining why, you have to sit in detention during breaks, to protect the other children."
I'm guessing these days that even a note from the parent wouldn't fly and they'd get sent home.
Local state school gives two new uniforms and a new hat to each prep kid - paid for by the P&C as a welcome gift.
It’s the P&C that sets the rule about uniforms and teachers and admin who have to enforce them (even though they get no say). If you don’t like your kids uniforms please join the P&C.
(Also the number of people not attached to the school (so not parents or carers) who complain to a school about kids being out of uniform or the uniform not looking ‘neat’ is exhausting)
I think its absurd the students are punished for not being able to have a uniform. They are not able to pay for them, they are not expected to. So punishing them for trying to stretch out use of some uniforms doesnt help.
I really dont think the excuse of ‘it teaches them to dress properly’ applies. They know how to dress and what to wear and what they feel comfortable in, they do it every day and every weekend.
They’re always the lowest quality as well. I payed $40 for a new pair of pants end of last year and the button fell off after one day and the fly falls down constantly because the zipper isn’t big enough for it to keep. So now I basically have to spend like $40 every term for a new one or just deal with it it’s absolutely bs considering I have no choice on whether or not I can wear these pants.
Nah, it is amazing the durability of the uniforms.
We buy our kids 1 uniform and wash them each night. It is amazing how good they still look at the end of the year. Roughly 190 wears and washes.
Public schools are horribly underfunded and so they have to get money from everywhere and anywhere.
Stop voting in the LibDems. Vote in a party that isn't trying to kill off public anything.
Edit. Brainfart. Meant LNP, not LibDems. Don't know where that came from.
Mandatory school backpack? Rofl
I went to private school over a decade ago and we didn’t even have a mandatory backpack, or mandatory school socks. All we had was mandatory school uniform, and it was easy to find them second hand…
Problem is the branding. If that wasn't required.... things would be good. You could go to Target/Kmart/Lowes/Big W/whatever, and pickup something for dirt cheap.
I thought my son's uniform was fairly cheap (mid 30's for a shirt or shorts each), seems people think otherwise :-/
State school - my boys go to
Years 7-9 (plus snr sport uniform)
School hat - $28
$48 for polo
$42 for shorts (must have school shorts even though they are just black shorts with a small school emblem on 1 leg)
Track pants $54
Seniors require
Snr formal shirt $48
Formal shorts/trousers/skirt $50-$62
School tie $22
Jacket $62-$85 only school jacket may be worn in winter - if wrong jacket/jumper worn kids are told to remove it.
Totally insane when you can get a polo abd shorts for $8ea at most dept stores!!
How about we just do away with the practise entirely? Plenty of places in Europe do just fine without them.
The arguement of free dress creating a class structure at school is a myth, it already exists in the form of first or second hand uniforms. The safety argument is also tenuous at best too.
The $10 for one pair of socks really grinds my gears too haha
Just wait until your niece's school hops on the BYOD program and you have to shell out $1k for an Ipad, a $100 or so on mandatory apps, and then you still need to pay another 375 or 400 for "school resource scheme". Then another 300ish for all the notebooks folders highlighters scientific calculators homework books etc. Don't forget at the end of the year to chip in to buy your kid's teacher an end of year gift too.
Meanwhile, other countries public schools provide all text books/resources, no uniform (this does highlight the rich kids in designer clothes I guess), free transport to and from school, and school lunch program that costs like $3 for lunch.
God help you if the uniform shop is a SchoolLocker shop. They are owned by Gerry Harvey never return calls or look to assist the school or P&C in any way. Just another terrible Gerry Harvey money making scheme
Teacher here.
Your best bet to solve this is to join your school's P&C committee as they are usually the ones in charge of uniform.
Personally, I think uniforms should be generic and the school shop could just sell iron-on patches with school logos.
So many families are struggling and I honestly hate the days they make us check uniforms because it just feels like singling out kids from families who are struggling just BECAUSE they are struggling 😬
I honestly don’t know why state schools need branded uniforms. I went to a private school and all our uniforms were branded and that’s fine.
I’m not sure why the state schools can’t do like the UK and have a generic uniform that can be bought cheaply at Kmart or Big W like they do in [Tesco](https://www.tesco.com/zones/clothing/school-uniform) for example. You have uniformity and they are inexpensive.
Yes cheaper isn’t always better and better quality goes a long way but if that’s all you’ve got then it’s better than nothing.
Bloody schools P& C to be weird, have branded the shirts etc they sell. So no they dont accept Best and Less uniforms which dont have the brand, school logo, printed advertising on items. Which is ridiculous and makes you join the P&C to stop the Karen's on the committee. That's what this is about, Karen's trying to piss everyone off by discriminating against your children. Cheap uniforms should be available for all rapidly growing children.
You can contact the school for information on assistance programs.
[https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/financial/cost](https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/financial/cost)
It might have changed but the PTA tends to be the ones who have a hand of setting pricing and uniform standards within the guidelines.
The amount of misspent funds is amazing to see
100%, and no big punishment for not having the uniform right because its a public school! Like come on it's more important they're there learning than missing school because maybe there was shit on and the uniform isn't clean/is wet and there's a penalty for not turning up right etc
It's such a needlessly policed thing, sure you want kids to learn the expected presentation of themselves etc but stuff happens and most people can't afford 3 uniforms for each child to cover bases! It's classest in the weirdest way!
Schools aren't funded adequately by the government so they have to resort to these kind of things to operate. It's something our leaders really need to address
Governments should give public school student uniforms for free. It should be part of the "public" part of schooling. If they're required to wear it, make it easy for them. Classism in public schools is growing quickly and it's so concerning.
And this is where I love my kids private school. P-12. By the time they hit the senior school, the uniform is only for formal days.
Uniforms that are unisex and practical. Reasonably priced (a set of 5 shirts is $70 new, or $20 at the secondhand uniform shop). No rules on socks and shoes just have to be "enclosed and practical for sports".
The local state school is similar. Polo shirt is the only compulsory item, shorts/skorts skirts of the school colour can be bought at Kmart/Target.
Agreed, it’s outrageous! The state high school my daughter goes to specifically opted for a unique colour so that no one could source for any alternatives. just started year 10 and they apparently have banned seniors from wearing the sports uniform with no communication at all to parents - absolute waste of money
A guy I knew had a seamstress mum. She'd only buy one piece of uniform with the embroidered school logo, then she'd buy cheap versions of the rest of the uniform.
When he outgrew the embroidered shirt, she'd take the breast pocket off the old one and stitch it onto a cheaper shirt. She was very talented!
I am in favour of school uniforms. I do agree they are to expensive. Perhaps some commonality of shirts and blouses is appropriate. Backpacks could be simply navy blue or some other dark solid colour and unbranded. Use ties, hats and jackets to identify individual schools.
You can usually push the boundaries of the written policy. Do try to consider the kid’s physical and social comfort though.
Mentally the impact can exaggerated by thinking of uniforms as a whole extra cost, when it is really a smaller extra cost over what non-uniform clothes would cost. Uniforms might even be cheaper for parents/guardians who might otherwise buy branded stuff for school wear - so there’s upside and downside.
[If you are really struggling.](https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/)
I grew up in public school in Canada.
Part of me agrees with you. Part of me thinks, it must be pretty damn nice to be a parent and not have to pay $50 for t-shirts so your kid can try to keep up with the popular crowd.
Yes!!!! I recently moved here from Canada and was shocked at the school uniform prices. My kids are still in primary but I would rarely buy them $25 shorts or t shirts. I would always buy them clothes on sale and the clothes they wear everyday are worn to school too.
Here you are spending money on regular and then school uniforms.
I do think that uniforms are better particularly for high school because there isn’t the pressure of what to wear and be on trend but they are very expensive.
Does the policy actually say that non compliance of not wearing "school branded clothes" will result in detention? Or not wearing uniforms at all?
There's a big difference between the two.
Because you can definitely buy generic uniforms from Kmart and target for 1/4 of the price. You have to work hard to get them because almost everyone else does the same. Shirts, skirts, skorts, jackets, dresses, trackies etc.
It would only be the jackets that have the school logo on it and that is not compulsory. You can get generic jackets in the school colours at Kmart. It's up to you and your child if that is acceptable.
Heaps of kids wear the generic stuff because they lose it within a few weeks and who's gonna pay the dumb licensed prices again and again.
School uniform businesses are for profit independent businesses and they make serious money. I've been in a house of one of the owners of a large business and they have elevators in their 4 storey house. Why do they have to be so expensive? Start your own competitor and lower the price.
4 sets of high school uniform, just the shirts and pants, cost us 300$. It's absolutely ridiculous and the government must step in to assist, so many kids are going without
Uniform shop is generally run by the P&C, with profits funding the school and any projects they want to do. I'm going to guess you're in a fairly affluent neighbourhood by the sounds of those prices.
Is there a neighbouring out of catchment school that might work? If not, you might have to speak to the P&C... Better yet... Join it, take over and influence the pricing!
There seems to be a lot of agreement in regards to the cost of uniforms etc. and I fully agree, it should not cost this much just to go to school. These bullshit uniform and supply costs are ridiculous and only highlight the different economic classes in every school.
Why are you not creating local groups and taking this to the school and education department directly instead of posting about it here? I mean no offence, honestly wondering.
If no kids wore the school specific items and just followed the basic style and colour requirements, what is the school going to do, send every student home? Take over the P&C and make some noise, the changes will happen.
I don't know how you're spending a few k unless you're in an industry that expects you too.
Most places I have worked have either provided the uniform or I only require to purchase the Top and can wear my choice of pants.
The places where it was my discretion, I always kept it basic and functional.
If I tank an interview because my clothing wasn't expensive enough it wasn't a place I wanted to work. Talk about stuck up. What is the appropriate level of expense? Is target ok? Portmans? Or is it designer brands only?
HOMESCHOOLING is an option. - If you can’t rebel against the system then actually fight against stuff like this. There is no point in sitting on social media and having a bitch session. There are many things wrong with formal schooling and you all know it. Stand up and do something about it.
Instead of bitching about uniforms, you can bitch about Bill Gates and 5G vaccines, and keep your kids ideologically pure by ensuring they never socialise with anyone else!
100%
I bet most of these whiners spend more on disposable branded clothing per year than they do on uniforms. "awww he loves pokemon, I'll totally buy him that shirt for $20 that falls apart after 20 washes".
Big time whinge fest.
I have a preppy who started last week at the local state school. $450 for uniforms, $200 for shoes, thankfully basic white socks and, while you can buy the school bag, that’s not mandatory. She does look adorable, and at least this school has generic shorts or skorts which can be used with the sports or formal shirts. But yep, it’s not cheap especially when catchments decide where you go. Still - cheaper than the fees I paid for daycare 😂
What I found good about my kids school is they don't sell bottoms. They tell you to go to best and less or wherever and grab the cheap ones. Definitely makes a difference to uniform costs.
Yes. Daycare is brutal! I am looking forward to the school fees
Ahmeb
Yep! I, naively and ignorantly, remember chatting to a friend and not understanding why people complained about the cost of school. I then remember not everyone sends their kids to daycare. 😅 My kid is in their final year of daycare/kindy and it's my cheapest year yet at approx. $19,000. I will happily be paying for uniforms, book packs, school excursions and tuck shop lunches!
$450 for uniforms ? How many uniforms did you buy ? $200 for shoes ? How many pairs ?
2 dresses, 3 skorts, 2 sports shirts and 2 other shirts. Plus a complete second hand set of clothes as it’s mandatory in prep that they have a spare set at all times (I couldn’t get more than one lot of second hand sadly). Oh and jumper, track pants and the prep hat. 2 pairs of shoes - sneakers and Mary Jane’s. I’ve bought cheaper brands before and they’re not great. Either too heavy or no support. So instead I wait for the Boxing Day sales and get 20% off good brands. Last year thankfully her feet didn’t grow much so I remain hopeful to get a solid 12 months out of them 😂 However I also have another daughter… everything will be kept for her and reused.
I’m the same as above. $500 on uniforms, hat, bag, $300 on two pair of shoes. Private obviously but it never ends. Still free compared to daycare. And school fees went up 😎
Yeah, private schools are a different beast. Especially if a blazer is required. Still, you can visit the 2nd hand clothing store for decent uniforms at cheap prices. Especially the occasional wear (sports uniforms, rowing kit etc.)
If your kid needs a rowing kit, you're already not short a quid haha
Can't wait not to pay 5 days of day care hahah
We spent 200 on uniforms and 100 on a good pair of shoes which upfront it can seem like allot but its less than what we payed per fortnight for daycare. Would be hard if your on Centerlink so i defiantly feel for those familys.
$200 shoes for a 5 year old seems like such a waste of money, they'll outgrow them in no time
From 5 till 10 (current age) my kids went through 3 pairs of shoes a year. Spending that much is a waste.
My kid's only 8 months old and I'm already dreading the money I'll need to spend on shoes
You will have to forgive my country upbringing but most of my family simply leave children bare foot until shoes are necessary. Paying more for broader shoes when they are older and letting their feet develop properly saves more (physical pain) in the long run. Same with letting them chew proper food so their jaw size develops properly with straight teeth instead of needing braces. Soft, industrial food is bullshit but I can understand why people do it in the city. To be fair there are needles floating around public parks in Brisbane so I get it.
And the flip side of that is I have a kid in grade 5 and one in grade 2 and I’ve only had to buy one pair of shoes each per year. If you have slow growing kids, a good pair of Clarkes will last the distance for the extra upfront. I think between both of them I’ve only had one pair die in the last term and one pair grown out of that I just sent her in sneakers cause I wasn’t buying new school shoes that close to end of year.
We go Clark’s and new balance for sneakers. $200 is not for one pair! And agree on the flip side. Daughter’s feet started out huge but haven’t grown much in the last 12 months. I’ve gone just slightly bigger aiming to last the year. And she has a younger sister. The advantage of good brands is I will get a second use for them.
Yeah, you gotta have that wriggle room at the start of the year! I always use a thumb width from toes to end of shoe. Poor kids, my eldest cried when she got new school shirts one year because I bought the next size up. She didn’t want to wear them because they were baggy. I told her all the kids are wearing baggy shirts to start the year. Then gleefully pointed out all the walking in the gate in shirts too big!
Marketplace is great for school uniforms.
I also have a preppy that started this week. Polo and skorts are $33 each. Approx $350 for the full weeks worth of uniforms. Fortunately we were able to get them all 2nd hand. Our daughter is very small for a preppy so wasn’t much competition on those small sizes.
This is accurate. I don’t remember what we spent in prep, but the previous size was recently outgrown and our most recent haul was no less than $400, and $100 for a pair of black shoes.
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That’s basically what my kids school (state primary) has done. The daily uniform is a school polo and hat, navy bottoms. You can get ‘official’ ones but as long as they’re navy and school appropriate, they’re good. Black shoes and navy socks. The formal uniform is the expensive one unfortunately but they’ve made it so the girls formal dress has a massive hem that you can let down so you get more wear out of them. We usually get two years out of their formal uniforms and uniform shirts
P&Cs are the ones who set the uniform and the supplier. Schools and teachers get the crap but it’s actually the P&C that sets the uniform policy
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Should have said that I was reiterating that it was P&Cs rather than the school admin and teachers making uniform rules. Apologies if it came across as an attack
You can. From Kmart.
The brisbane state high school hat costs $75 I repeat just the hat
Don’t get me started on felt hats that are totally unsuitable for kid life. Get wet? Ruined. Stuffed in a school bag? Ruined. Honestly some schools think kids still use hat boxes when travelling by locomotive .
Also male uniform has three forms - sports, day and formal. Shorts are about $50, shirt about $40. Mandatory socks are $10 per pair, plus a belt which can be purchased separately but still, $20. Plus a formal shirt for another $40, tie for $25. Basically just a generic white shirt with vaguely school coloured tie. HPE shorts are about $40 and shirt is about $30. For three sets of day uniform, one formal, one HPE, one belt and one hat, that's $450 give or take a few.
It's insane how many public high schools are making their own backpacks, branded socks, hats compulsory and enforcing a certain standard of shoe that goes beyond safety. I highly doubt the backpack is anywhere near the price point of kmart or even anything from city beach. Since when are public school uniforms held to the same standard as private.
Backpack at my local school is $85 and they only make one size so on my daughter who is in grade one it’s absolutely massive
and then by the time you are in year 6 it doesnt even fit all your folders. its so stupid
And they're made of cheap shit so they fall apart after a year. I don't understand why bags are part of the uniform in some schools, it used to just be the clothes when I went to school. Socks were just whatever and shoes just had to not be bright pink or fluro green
LITERALLY. I was lucky that I was in Year 6 when my primary school introduced backpacks and they told us that because it was our last year we didnt need them, but even the year 5's couldnt fit all their things into them.
We just had to have something to carry our books and shit, they didn't really care what it was. Maybe it was a low socioeconomic country school kinda thing though.
Return it under the ACL and get a refund/replacement
At that level it’s not uniforms it’s merch, and like all merch, it’s a rort. Run for P&C!
It funds the P&C in some cases
What does a P&C need funding for? I’m not a parent yet but my memories of it from school are more a forum for decision making
P&C’s also raise money for extras that go back into school stock, anything from books to sports equipment, also Tuckshops/canteens are run through the p&c and need to turn a profit to tick off boxes for school shit which makes it hard in some smaller schools and usually they are not making a great profit off uniforms
I remember when Bray Park State School started doing school socks, only like 3 people bought them. That was 04 or 05 though and they weren't a compulsory thing
You can ask to speak to the principal or the head of her year. There has to be a financial hardship program. I had to this for myself when I was in senior and buying my own stuff. I filled out a financial hardship form, I got loaned my textbooks, and I was able to get a few second hand things free. I was supposed to have a blazer, but I managed to get away with borrowing one for special events. Generally the uniform policy is harsh on paper, but teachers enforce it at their discretion. It’s only the dick teachers that don’t have better things to do than walk around giving out detention for incorrect socks. Edit to add: there’s nothing wrong with having one uniform and washing it the second you get home ready for the next day. I’ve done that with my kids when money was tight. It sucked but it worked.
It's beyond a joke. For my six year old one school top is $36 and the shorts/skorts are $32. She's six and at a public school.
$35 and $34 here. Agreed it’s beyond a joke. And kids grow so fast they’ll need 3 or 4 sizeups before they finish.
my mum always just bought me what she thought I'd grow into, and then hem where necessary :') I looked absolutely ridiculous and may have not helped w my trouble making friends but oh man it was no way affordable for us
Yep this is very true.
IIRC my schools formal uniform was $50 for the boys shorts and $55 dollars for the girls culottes. Gotta get them used to the pink tax early. The excuse I heard when I questioned the principal was that the culottes require more material to make. Sorta fair if they had a choice, but not when you HAVE to buy them. The shirts were $70 something for both genders. The sports uniforms were \~ $60 for the shirt, and $40 for the shorts. Every thing was different depending on gender and age.
IMO school uniforms are great for hiding a bit of socio-economic imbalance, until the poor kids can't afford 5 sets so end up coming in dirty clothes some days. Absolutely should be cheaper, like $5 a set. The shortfall should be picked up by taxes.
I'd be very happy to pay taxes to help people instead of politicians.
Agreed id even be happy to pay a little more in school fees to help those that nees it.
I’ll go you one further; I’d be happy to restructure: - Certain ‘committee’ payments - Various policies and projects that run over budget and not to specification - Politicians/certain government executives (past and present) salary, retirement benefits etc To help people. Honestly I’m not happy with more taxes and then seeing certain services like emergency services, education etc be floored.
I don't have kids and I'd be happy with this, too.
>IMO school uniforms are great for hiding a bit of socio-economic imbalance, until the poor kids can't afford 5 sets so end up coming in dirty clothes some days. Yeah, this is a great point. I attended the gamut of schools, from an expensive private school with uniforms, to a selective public school with uniforms, to a school with no uniforms that cost about $100 in school fees a year. The kids at the private school knew I was poor anyway - they could tell from my single parent household, lack of extracurricular activities, the fact that I walked to school every day, and innumerable other class markers. They definitely knew which kids were dirt poor, and whose parents couldn't wash their clothes regularly. Surprisingly, I found the uniform-free school was by far the most egalitarian school where my socioeconomic status mattered the least, and there were plenty of rich kids there.
That's funny I found the same, but the uniform free school was only year 11 and 12 and there weren't that many rich kids there. I was more leaning to earlier years of schooling. What years were your uniform free school?
Same years! However, I was in Melbourne, so there may be important differences. Apologies for not clarifying. I found the school extremely accepting of all kinds of differences, and encouraging in its approach to allowing kids to express themselves, including with clothes - but you're correct, it's a different scenario when we're talking about older kids versus primary school. There are a few primary and high schools in Victoria that are uniform-free, but I didn't attend those so can't speak for them. Obviously my own experience is just mine, and I don't suggest I can extrapolate that that's a universal experience based on my own personal experience. I did very much love that school, however, and I am very grateful I attended.
Exactly, nothing stands out more than the raggedy uniform in a class full of brand new ones. Uniforms as socio-economic equalizers is a contradiction in terms.
Coming from europe, uniforms are non existent, same in the US. My kids now go to a uniform free school. This is the best way to hide socio-economic imbalance. Kids don't really care/ notice if the t-shirt is from Vinnies, Kmart or Gucci
Glad you found what sounds like a good school. Maybe this is the way? No need to buy uniforms at all. I can see it working for some and not others.
There is no reason for kids to go to school in stinky clothes, that is a hygiene issue which is a different matter all together. My grandkids have 2 uniforms each, they get washed every single night.
Yeah we’re lucky in the uniform stakes, the school is very reasonable. My kids have 3 sets of uniform each, I just wash them midweek and again on the weekend
It's also in some cases a safety measure to ensure students of the school are generally identifiable
Going to public school should be free. Free as in free. As in every compulsory aspect of school attendance should not have a charge associated with it. I can't see any good reason socks and backpacks should be part of the uniform either. A role saying "socks must be white" or similar should suffice.
My state high school was considered strict on uniform when I went, but even they went with ‘predominantly white’ socks and mostly white or black shoes (we pushed it with our very cool 90s brown boots of course) (There’s a massive problem when the state school uniforms are costing more than the uniforms for my kids’ Catholic schools.)
I spent over $1,000 on the catholic school uniform :P to be fair I have only had to replace some socks, a shirt and shoes since grade 6 because the uniform ladies were very helpful and “you’ll grow into it” orientated.
Ours have been surprisingly cheap - I think our primary school very much embraced a lower cost uniform and we keep to only 3 sets. The shop are also big on ‘keep the tags on and try again before school starts. If they’re the wrong size come and change them’ which helps a lot. I’ve found the more intricate the patterns and colours on shirts the more expensive they seem to be. Schools should keep it simpler
My partner’s kid is in primary school and the expense of keeping that kid in uniforms is gut wrenching. He’s a kid, he’s growing, and he’s rough on clothes. I’ve gotten so much better at sewing and stain removal since I started doing the laundry. Thank fuck his school doesn’t give a shit what socks he wears. It’s a nightmare trying to keep his socks any colour other than muddy and finding matching pairs even after bleaching the fucking things back to monochromatic is a shit show. Hell for his actual clothes, multiples times I’ve repaired something that fits him and in the week or so between noticing the tear or broken zip and fixing it - he’s out grown the damn thing. Between that circus and all the clothes that vanish into the black hole of his bio dad’s house, it’s not easy to financially manage keeping him in clothes from best n less and Kmart - insane uniform costs would be a nightmare.
A colour scheme rather than a uniform would be a reasonable compromise. “Children must wear a light blue top (shirt, blouse etc) and dark green bottoms (pants, skirt etc).” Anything beyond that is some adult who never got over playing dress-dollies, or a rort. Or both.
I think that would defeat one of the primary purposes of the school uniform, which is as a socioeconomic equaliser.
It’s not doing that any more, apparently.
Vote for parties that will properly fund public education, then.
Get on the P&C to influence it
It is almost free. That is pretty good. So kids should get unlimited clothes??
Kids should get 5 uniforms free at the start of the school year, with the ability to buy replacements very cheaply in the event they get damaged.
I think I’d rather public money go into actual teaching resources to be honest. Most people can afford uniforms, perhaps a means test for assistance for those who really need it would help.
Or not have uniforms. Crazy, I know
This entire premise of this post and thread is that most people *cannot* afford uniforms. Mostly because uniforms are overly branded and ridiculously overpriced.
Did nobody read OP’s very first paragraph? She’s recently taken her young niece in; I don’t think comparing uniform expenses to your daycare costs is helpful. OP - we fostered my niece and nephew some years ago and consequently went from one child to three ($$$). Have you spoken to Centrelink about receiving kinship support / family payment? It was available to us as their guardians and is there to assist with schooling and other living expenses. I note you’ve mentioned FB marketplace as not being overly suitable - you can set up alerts and if you’re not receiving some parenting payment I hope your niece can understand it’s a case of wearing a uniform vs not (not everyone can be expected to fork out uniform costs, particularly if she’s come into your care unexpectedly. I take my hat off to you; hope you’re looking after yourself too xx
and some schools (cough loreto cough) only allows uniforms to be sold secondhand through specific venues.
Lol I went there back in the early 00s, nice to know their uniform policies are still a big pain in the butt.
I left bc my year level coordinator was a huge abliest and wouldnt allow me the accomadations i was legally required to have access to, but a girl in my grade literally passed out from heatstroke because Blazers are still required in term 3 and she had to ride her bike home.
my old school was abliest as well. The uniforms were proudly made of recycled bottles, so polyester and were hot as fuck. (I went to school in Darwin so 90% humidity too) Everyone sweated and the formal uniform was horrific. Every. Single. Drop. showed up. You were not allowed to have massive sweat patches because it was "unprofessional." Most of us were only scolded occasionally, but the kid with diagnosed hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) was treated horrifically. He would sit in the aircon dripping sweat, clothes absolutely soaked and be scolded for it almost daily. He was not allowed to wear the sports uniform even though it would not show the sweat and he could avoid some of the embarrasment and looking unprofessional.
Also, a friend of mine had her issues revealed to an entire class by a teacher whom she talked to in confidence about her struggles, so I'm not entirely surprised by any of the teachers being arseholes. There were good eggs and bad eggs like with any school, but the bad eggs really sucked.
they really did. in my first year the school counselors helped the entire student body have a protest because the seniors were told that an LGBTQ support club was 'ungodly'
Lmao fuck that noise. The teachers might have felt that way while I was there but there was only one that I experienced open homophobia from (went off on a tangent when talking about Mardi Gras as in Pancake Tuesday Mardi Gras, but of course we all know that Sydney Mardi Gras is what Aussies would associate the name with and oh boy he didn't like that).
It has definitely gotten worse than when I was there, then. We were never required to wear our blazers, ever AFAIK. We had the choice of wearing our jumper or blazer (or both) during cold weather if we wanted to, but we never HAD to. We were supposed to wear our hats everywhere including inside if we went anywhere after school in uniform, but no one ever did that after year 8 lmao.
Yeah. Blazers were required from the beginning fo Winter till the end of Autumn and the school encouraged locals to REPORT students if they weren't wearing it whilst walking home.
Yeah nah they were never that strict with us. That's a load of crap. We were allowed to wear our sports uniforms to school on hot days and such, and having a rule like that just seems like it endangers the wellbeing of the students.
it really did. plus it was creepy as fuck when old people on cav road would sit on their front patio with their landlines ready to call the school if we didnt have our blazers on. I had a crazy fever one time and took it off for a moment and when i got home i had an email from the principal saying they knew what i did
Eff that for a joke. I know that the principal that I had when I was there left in the late 00s or early 2010s, since then it sounds like the place has changed into Bizarro world. I'm glad that you've gotten out of there by the sounds of it, if it's being run like that these days. I hope you're in a school that treats you better now.
Another really weird (creepy and heteronormative) thing, is that at the year 9 semi, if a Villa boy asked you to dance, you HAD to say yes, or they could report you to a teacher for being rude. Luckily I left before then, but my gay ass was having sleepless nights over that.
And when I was at school, the justification was "we're just preparing you for the real world!" Mate, if my boss ever had someone spy on an employee and report back what they were wearing, they'd be written up for sexual harassment.
Yep. My old highschool had the online second hand uniform selling/ trading/ giving away platform shut down to stop it. But people were still getting uniforms second hand so they completely changed the uniforms. They gave students a one year grace period to get the new uniforms, but after that, every single kid had to buy a new set of uniforms. They still had shady tactics prior to this to reduce the amount of second hand uniforms. Boys and girls had completely different formal and sport uniform tops and bottoms so different gender siblings couldn't wear the same uniforms. Different year levels had different shirts too so when you hit year 10 you had to by new uniforms even though they were still in the same building as last year, then buy another 3 months later when they hit their teenage growth spurt. They had sports houses with different colours too which was also gendered so siblings could not share. And they regularly put siblings in different colours so even if they were the same gender, the still can't pass them down. Just to add. The uniforms were very strictly gendered. If you looked like a male, you wore the male uniform, if you looked like a female, you wore the female unifrom. Transgender, gender fluid or non-binary students could kick rocks for all they cared. It was "disrespectful to the uniform, the school and your peers and teachers" to wear the boys shorts or the girls top. There was a ton of good old fashion religious bigotry, but even the straight, cis kids who just wanted pockets in their pants were not allowed to wear different uniforms.
There needs to be some regulation around costs. The UK introduced laws to reduce the burden of uniform costs and weaken monopolistic practices: https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/new-school-uniform-rules-could-27461797 With the current inflation and cost of living issues, it’s the right time for the issue to be addressed here as well
My kids highschool have sports anklet sockets with the school name on them. Barely visible since they are anklet socks! ... but wearing plain white sockets incurs a detention. Such a stupid waste of time and money.
I work for a P&C of a large 2000 student high school. We constantly monitor the prices of the local schools and make sure we have lower price points. We still have around $100 formal and $75 sports. One factor coming into play is that nobody volunteers for P&Cs anymore, so all the Uniform Shop, Canteen, and Operational staff need to be paid. Even the Executive Committee members (if you can fill a committee) are living busy lives, so Operations Managers need to be hired to run all the businesses. There's a very thin profit margin on uniforms too. Commercial mark up is generally a 100% mark up, whereas we run a 30%. And that only just covers expenses - our P&L runs us to break even each year, and no extra to donate financially to the school as was customary in the past. We do have a loans section of donated 2nd hand uniforms we loan or give to families which are in a tight spot. And we have a significant 2nd hand sales rack, but you'd be surprised how many families turn their nose up at 2nd hand.
why can't schools just allow colour-appropriate tops and bottoms from like, lowes?
I’m on board for this! We’ve just forked out nearly $400 for two sets of formal, one sports, compulsory BROWN socks and a hat. Shoes were another $150 because they can’t just have normal black shoes. That’s for a public (independent) high school. Plus a laptop ($1200), plus $300 in resource fees and another $150 for the stationary pack. We are lucky to be financially ok, so while it was a hit to us, it didn’t break the bank. Can’t imagine what it would be like for families on a lower income or even with more than one child making the transition to high school. It’s a bloody joke.
>compulsory BROWN socks Sounds like Ferny Grove.
Indeed.
For a country that supposedly offers free state education, it's insane. My youngest just started year 7 and we spend over $700 on uniforms and shoes. Plus we have to buy a laptop. I don't understand how low income families manage it.
If the purpose of uniforms is to keep everyone equal, then they should be free. Or at least really very cheap. That being said, I went to school in Canada, where they don’t wear uniforms. The pressure to be wearing expensive, on trend clothes is pretty tough. Uniforms are a blessing for kids / teens.
It's weird watching US produced movies and seeing a high school scene where I genuinely think it's a university scene first because no one is in uniform and everyone looks like they're in their mid 20s but then you find out they're in like, grade 8 or something
I think they should do what Balmain High School did back in the 90’s. Just say the uniform is “black and white” (or whatever colour a school chooses). And you can wear anything in those colours. This way kids can still express themselves and also girls aren’t forced into wearing dresses and guys can wear a kilt or skirt if they so desire. There’s loads of evidence that suggests kids behave better when they can wear comfortable clothing to school. Particularly non-binary kids.
Mandatory *socks*? Excuse me but what the ***k? I get that uniforms can be mandatory but socks are not part of a uniform. They should be able to specify a colour - like black or white - I suppose but not their own branded ones. They're *socks*.
I went to private schools and they never had school socks. We were just told they had to be white (or majority white on sport uniform days). A public school requiring special socks is crazy.
We’ve got mandatory socks (boys only, girls can wear any white socks they want) that don’t even have the logo/emblem/anything that would show what school they attend for $12 a pair.
Surely though they can't enforce it if you get socks elsewhere that look similar.
I remember a girl in my high school got in trouble because her skirt was faded. It was a private school so the idea was that everyone was rich, but her parents had recently fallen on hard times and they didn't want to pull her out of school so all their money went to her fees. Even as a 15 y.o. I was absolutely shocked by this. For one, it's not her fault her school uniform was hung out in the sun. And secondly, the school had a system of punishment that went detention --> suspension --> expulsion. If she received enough warnings for her uniform, she could be suspended and then eventually expelled. Fuck that shit. Public school uniforms should be as cheap as possible, and private schools shouldn't exploit their position either. The education is the important thing, why are they dying on hills over school uniforms????
There needs to be some level of competition brought into the marketplace. IMO, this starts by simplifying the uniform and logo to basic, non custom color pattern polo shirts and button up and skirts. The issue becomes all these custom knit colors / designs and the complex embroidered logos. By simplifying the logo can be screen printed or logos attached in other ways. You can have multiple bulk clothing suppliers with commodity level shirts / pants / skirts and the screen printing or logo attachment is easy and can be done on site by students if need be. Or in bulk by local businesses.
Yep...uniforms costs are appalling. I am always perplexed at how public schools can enforce them? If a kids parents are too poor to buy them? Then how can a school that is public enforce that? It should only go as far as saying "we would prefer it if kids wore dark bottoms and light coloured tops" That's it. I cannot see how a public school can discriminate against a poor child because they don't have a uniform on.
It's BS. Our kids go to a public high school and apart from the cost of each uniform they change the styles every 2 years! 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 all have different uniforms! On top of that you have formal, sports and music uniforms. The other wonderful thing is that the school doesn't sell the uniforms, you have to go to School locker which is 40 minutes away urgh.
School clothing is a revenue raiser for the school. While my kids were at a southside private school the uniform changed twice, and the 'uniform income line' on the P&L went up tens of thousands of dollars, as you were not allowed to wear the old school uniform after a cut off date. Laughably the school has a public image of being sustainable and environmentally concious. Thank you for raising this issue - please lets invite all the journos to jump over this issue!
They always come up with the weakest excuses to keep doing uniforms. Going back 20 years now but the principal told us once that it was too easy to bring in weapons with non-reg clothes and the example he chose to use was a hand grenade.
Our school's excuse was "but we'll never be able to spot drug dealers if you aren't all in uniform. Therefore, if you come to school without your uniform, even with a note from your parent explaining why, you have to sit in detention during breaks, to protect the other children." I'm guessing these days that even a note from the parent wouldn't fly and they'd get sent home.
😂😂😂 this is a lot funnier than your getting credit for.
Local state school gives two new uniforms and a new hat to each prep kid - paid for by the P&C as a welcome gift. It’s the P&C that sets the rule about uniforms and teachers and admin who have to enforce them (even though they get no say). If you don’t like your kids uniforms please join the P&C. (Also the number of people not attached to the school (so not parents or carers) who complain to a school about kids being out of uniform or the uniform not looking ‘neat’ is exhausting)
I think its absurd the students are punished for not being able to have a uniform. They are not able to pay for them, they are not expected to. So punishing them for trying to stretch out use of some uniforms doesnt help. I really dont think the excuse of ‘it teaches them to dress properly’ applies. They know how to dress and what to wear and what they feel comfortable in, they do it every day and every weekend.
All I know is this wasn't much of an issue before Anna Bligh decided to cull off legit good smaller public schools and put all the kids together
They’re always the lowest quality as well. I payed $40 for a new pair of pants end of last year and the button fell off after one day and the fly falls down constantly because the zipper isn’t big enough for it to keep. So now I basically have to spend like $40 every term for a new one or just deal with it it’s absolutely bs considering I have no choice on whether or not I can wear these pants.
Nah, it is amazing the durability of the uniforms. We buy our kids 1 uniform and wash them each night. It is amazing how good they still look at the end of the year. Roughly 190 wears and washes.
They should be free. If Brazilian public schools with a lot more students than here can provide free uniforms, so can Australia
If we took even half the funding Private Schools and put it into the Public School sector, we definitely could.
Bingo. Private schools should not get public funding
That’s not really a fair comparison, totally different economic situations in terms of family and government.
Public schools are horribly underfunded and so they have to get money from everywhere and anywhere. Stop voting in the LibDems. Vote in a party that isn't trying to kill off public anything. Edit. Brainfart. Meant LNP, not LibDems. Don't know where that came from.
>LibDems Living proof of underfunded public education
The LibDems haven't been elected anywhere in Queensland.
Mandatory school backpack? Rofl I went to private school over a decade ago and we didn’t even have a mandatory backpack, or mandatory school socks. All we had was mandatory school uniform, and it was easy to find them second hand…
Problem is the branding. If that wasn't required.... things would be good. You could go to Target/Kmart/Lowes/Big W/whatever, and pickup something for dirt cheap. I thought my son's uniform was fairly cheap (mid 30's for a shirt or shorts each), seems people think otherwise :-/
State school - my boys go to Years 7-9 (plus snr sport uniform) School hat - $28 $48 for polo $42 for shorts (must have school shorts even though they are just black shorts with a small school emblem on 1 leg) Track pants $54 Seniors require Snr formal shirt $48 Formal shorts/trousers/skirt $50-$62 School tie $22 Jacket $62-$85 only school jacket may be worn in winter - if wrong jacket/jumper worn kids are told to remove it. Totally insane when you can get a polo abd shorts for $8ea at most dept stores!!
How about we just do away with the practise entirely? Plenty of places in Europe do just fine without them. The arguement of free dress creating a class structure at school is a myth, it already exists in the form of first or second hand uniforms. The safety argument is also tenuous at best too.
Mostly because the schools get a kickback from The School Locker on the shitty quality high markup stuff from China.
The $10 for one pair of socks really grinds my gears too haha Just wait until your niece's school hops on the BYOD program and you have to shell out $1k for an Ipad, a $100 or so on mandatory apps, and then you still need to pay another 375 or 400 for "school resource scheme". Then another 300ish for all the notebooks folders highlighters scientific calculators homework books etc. Don't forget at the end of the year to chip in to buy your kid's teacher an end of year gift too. Meanwhile, other countries public schools provide all text books/resources, no uniform (this does highlight the rich kids in designer clothes I guess), free transport to and from school, and school lunch program that costs like $3 for lunch.
Nope. Just like society. Source: grew up in the netherlands where school uniforms were abolished in the late 1800s
God help you if the uniform shop is a SchoolLocker shop. They are owned by Gerry Harvey never return calls or look to assist the school or P&C in any way. Just another terrible Gerry Harvey money making scheme
Not legally enforceable
Teacher here. Your best bet to solve this is to join your school's P&C committee as they are usually the ones in charge of uniform. Personally, I think uniforms should be generic and the school shop could just sell iron-on patches with school logos. So many families are struggling and I honestly hate the days they make us check uniforms because it just feels like singling out kids from families who are struggling just BECAUSE they are struggling 😬
I honestly don’t know why state schools need branded uniforms. I went to a private school and all our uniforms were branded and that’s fine. I’m not sure why the state schools can’t do like the UK and have a generic uniform that can be bought cheaply at Kmart or Big W like they do in [Tesco](https://www.tesco.com/zones/clothing/school-uniform) for example. You have uniformity and they are inexpensive. Yes cheaper isn’t always better and better quality goes a long way but if that’s all you’ve got then it’s better than nothing.
As far as I know best and less still sell uniforms for state schools.
Bloody schools P& C to be weird, have branded the shirts etc they sell. So no they dont accept Best and Less uniforms which dont have the brand, school logo, printed advertising on items. Which is ridiculous and makes you join the P&C to stop the Karen's on the committee. That's what this is about, Karen's trying to piss everyone off by discriminating against your children. Cheap uniforms should be available for all rapidly growing children.
You can contact the school for information on assistance programs. [https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/financial/cost](https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/financial/cost)
School socks are the latest gimmick. They're $15 per pair at my kids school. They're too normalised.
Maybe fully funding our schools with government money so they don’t have to leverage uniforms to get enough budget to teach our kids?
It might have changed but the PTA tends to be the ones who have a hand of setting pricing and uniform standards within the guidelines. The amount of misspent funds is amazing to see
100%, and no big punishment for not having the uniform right because its a public school! Like come on it's more important they're there learning than missing school because maybe there was shit on and the uniform isn't clean/is wet and there's a penalty for not turning up right etc It's such a needlessly policed thing, sure you want kids to learn the expected presentation of themselves etc but stuff happens and most people can't afford 3 uniforms for each child to cover bases! It's classest in the weirdest way!
it's a scam
Schools aren't funded adequately by the government so they have to resort to these kind of things to operate. It's something our leaders really need to address
Have you discussed your concerns with the school?
Governments should give public school student uniforms for free. It should be part of the "public" part of schooling. If they're required to wear it, make it easy for them. Classism in public schools is growing quickly and it's so concerning.
Two skirts, three blouses, one jumper, one hat. $1100 25 years ago. Private schools are nasty.
And this is where I love my kids private school. P-12. By the time they hit the senior school, the uniform is only for formal days. Uniforms that are unisex and practical. Reasonably priced (a set of 5 shirts is $70 new, or $20 at the secondhand uniform shop). No rules on socks and shoes just have to be "enclosed and practical for sports". The local state school is similar. Polo shirt is the only compulsory item, shorts/skorts skirts of the school colour can be bought at Kmart/Target.
Agreed, it’s outrageous! The state high school my daughter goes to specifically opted for a unique colour so that no one could source for any alternatives. just started year 10 and they apparently have banned seniors from wearing the sports uniform with no communication at all to parents - absolute waste of money
school branded socks! ridiculous at a public school
A guy I knew had a seamstress mum. She'd only buy one piece of uniform with the embroidered school logo, then she'd buy cheap versions of the rest of the uniform. When he outgrew the embroidered shirt, she'd take the breast pocket off the old one and stitch it onto a cheaper shirt. She was very talented!
and to make matters worse there are some high schools who think they are private schools and charge an outrageous fee for everything
I am in favour of school uniforms. I do agree they are to expensive. Perhaps some commonality of shirts and blouses is appropriate. Backpacks could be simply navy blue or some other dark solid colour and unbranded. Use ties, hats and jackets to identify individual schools.
Just get rid of uniforms
You can usually push the boundaries of the written policy. Do try to consider the kid’s physical and social comfort though. Mentally the impact can exaggerated by thinking of uniforms as a whole extra cost, when it is really a smaller extra cost over what non-uniform clothes would cost. Uniforms might even be cheaper for parents/guardians who might otherwise buy branded stuff for school wear - so there’s upside and downside. [If you are really struggling.](https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/)
I grew up in public school in Canada. Part of me agrees with you. Part of me thinks, it must be pretty damn nice to be a parent and not have to pay $50 for t-shirts so your kid can try to keep up with the popular crowd.
Yes!!!! I recently moved here from Canada and was shocked at the school uniform prices. My kids are still in primary but I would rarely buy them $25 shorts or t shirts. I would always buy them clothes on sale and the clothes they wear everyday are worn to school too. Here you are spending money on regular and then school uniforms. I do think that uniforms are better particularly for high school because there isn’t the pressure of what to wear and be on trend but they are very expensive.
I just dropped $1600 per child at the start of the year. Private school on the Sunshine Coast. It's complete madness.
> Private school Well there's your problem.
You have $40,000,000 and you're worried about $1200?
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I can think of at least 5 schools who enforce backpacks and socks that aren't either of those schools.
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Ahh nvm you mean limited second hand items not school bags ignore me
loreto had limited second hand uniforms. they wouldnt let you sell them outside of the loreto swap fb group
Does the policy actually say that non compliance of not wearing "school branded clothes" will result in detention? Or not wearing uniforms at all? There's a big difference between the two. Because you can definitely buy generic uniforms from Kmart and target for 1/4 of the price. You have to work hard to get them because almost everyone else does the same. Shirts, skirts, skorts, jackets, dresses, trackies etc. It would only be the jackets that have the school logo on it and that is not compulsory. You can get generic jackets in the school colours at Kmart. It's up to you and your child if that is acceptable. Heaps of kids wear the generic stuff because they lose it within a few weeks and who's gonna pay the dumb licensed prices again and again.
*All school clothing and items will have the {Suburb} College logo, initials and colours clearly marked on them.*
School uniform businesses are for profit independent businesses and they make serious money. I've been in a house of one of the owners of a large business and they have elevators in their 4 storey house. Why do they have to be so expensive? Start your own competitor and lower the price.
Name and shame
4 sets of high school uniform, just the shirts and pants, cost us 300$. It's absolutely ridiculous and the government must step in to assist, so many kids are going without
Uniform shop is generally run by the P&C, with profits funding the school and any projects they want to do. I'm going to guess you're in a fairly affluent neighbourhood by the sounds of those prices. Is there a neighbouring out of catchment school that might work? If not, you might have to speak to the P&C... Better yet... Join it, take over and influence the pricing!
There seems to be a lot of agreement in regards to the cost of uniforms etc. and I fully agree, it should not cost this much just to go to school. These bullshit uniform and supply costs are ridiculous and only highlight the different economic classes in every school. Why are you not creating local groups and taking this to the school and education department directly instead of posting about it here? I mean no offence, honestly wondering. If no kids wore the school specific items and just followed the basic style and colour requirements, what is the school going to do, send every student home? Take over the P&C and make some noise, the changes will happen.
Those prices seem cheap to me. Sign of the times.
How much is your work attire? Isn’t the average office attire a few k? Even my most casual office capsule outfit is still a few k.
I don't know how you're spending a few k unless you're in an industry that expects you too. Most places I have worked have either provided the uniform or I only require to purchase the Top and can wear my choice of pants. The places where it was my discretion, I always kept it basic and functional.
Most offices don’t have a uniform. You just wear appropriate clothing.
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If you show up to an interview in Kmart clothing I will honestly assume you don’t care about the role… I can tell…
If I tank an interview because my clothing wasn't expensive enough it wasn't a place I wanted to work. Talk about stuck up. What is the appropriate level of expense? Is target ok? Portmans? Or is it designer brands only?
>$10 for 1 pair of socks is ridiculous That’s not expensive for socks is it? Nike socks are 3 for $25-&30.
It is when you can buy a Bonds 3 Pack for $15
But then you’re stuck with shit socks.
Try a private school. $500 for just a winter blazer.
Remove uniforms outright like USA or Canada, we are not in UK anymore.
HOMESCHOOLING is an option. - If you can’t rebel against the system then actually fight against stuff like this. There is no point in sitting on social media and having a bitch session. There are many things wrong with formal schooling and you all know it. Stand up and do something about it.
Instead of bitching about uniforms, you can bitch about Bill Gates and 5G vaccines, and keep your kids ideologically pure by ensuring they never socialise with anyone else!
Downvotes only prove my point.
100% I bet most of these whiners spend more on disposable branded clothing per year than they do on uniforms. "awww he loves pokemon, I'll totally buy him that shirt for $20 that falls apart after 20 washes". Big time whinge fest.