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Juniors

01st May 2019

Is it time for schools to ditch crests to make uniforms cheaper for parents?

My son is about to start at a new school.

For the last three years, he has been attending the same school which happens to be the one I attended when I was little.

When I was a student there the uniform was a different colour, a beautiful shade of brown, whereas now it is blue. I’m happy about that alteration but I wasn’t so thrilled by the addition of a school crest.

Most stores now provide their own version of generic school uniforms at bargain prices.

Unfortunately, if your child’s school requires them to have a branded uniform, school crest and all, you can’t buy the discount version.

My son’s school tracksuit on its own cost €35, while his jumpers were priced at €25. In the end, I ended up spending close to €200 for his entire uniform (including a spare jumper). The same amount of clothing would have cost me approximately €50 in Aldi.

At the moment only one of my children requires a school uniform but in a couple of years, they both will.

For parents with multiple children needing to buy school branded uniforms can be extremely costly, and that’s before you even dive into buying books, supplies or paying school fees.

While I think school uniforms, in general, are a good idea as they stop children from being teased about what they’re wearing, I don’t understand why they need crests which drive up the price.