School uniforms don’t come cheap, and particularly so if you’re shopping for more than one child. However, with schools required to allow more non-branded school uniform items, parents can make their money go further by exploring high street options online.
Ahead of the new school year, our researchers have investigated the prices of boy’s and girl’s uniform essentials at six leading retailers. We conducted the research to help parents with their back-to-school preparations, from purchasing new school uniforms to being stocked up with printing essentials.
The items included in the costings were:
Costings were based on the starting prices of the selected uniform items, which would fit a child starting primary school, aged 3 years. The items selected were in packs of two, with the price of items sold individually doubled to allow for comparison.
Key findings from the study include:
With the start of a new school year, it pays to be prepared with a checklist of items your child will need. To help them with upcoming homework and projects, and to avoid any deadline surprises, it’s worth exploring printer supplies, such as our ink and toner cartridges, ahead of the new school year. Be sure to also check out our free school timetable templates , perfect for staying in the know with what supplies your child will need to bring to school each day.
Findings based upon purchasing a non-branded school uniform online. Data collected on the 5th and 6th August 2024, from six leading retailers. Prices are subject to change.
As the study was based on purchasing school uniforms online, Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl were excluded from the study.
Prices based on the starting prices of selected items, which would fit a child starting primary school, aged 3 years. Please note the boys sweatshirts from John Lewis has a recorded starting price for 7-8 year olds, as the starting price for 3 year olds was not visible (due to 3 year old uniform appearing to be out of stock at this time) so there may or may not be a small price variation in the starting price here.
Items selected based on packs of two. Where items were sold individually, quantities (and therefore prices) were doubled to allow for comparison. Two items were discounted at John Lewis and have been honoured in the pricing calculations, totalling a discount of £9 (including both items) from the original prices.