SCHOOL uniforms can cost a small fortune when you’re stocking up ahead of the new term.
If you know where to look, you can find them on the cheap and supermarkets are usually a great place to start.
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Many high street retailers are running discounts and low prices already so even though it feels like the summer holiday has only just begun, it could be a good idea to keep an eye on prices before September rolls around.
You’ll usually be able to pick up all the essentials, from shirts and polo tops, to skirts trousers and jumpers.
The average cost of a school uniform was just over £100 last year, according to a government research briefing.
But if you look in the right places we’ve found you could be able to bag a complete uniform for under a tenner.
How to compare prices to get the best deal
JUST because something is on offer, or is part of a sale, it doesn’t mean it’s always a good deal.
There are plenty of comparison websites out there that’ll check prices for you – so don’t be left paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers.
Here are some that we recommend:
- Google Shopping is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web. Simply type in keywords, or a product number, to bring up search results.
- Price Spy logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and the supermarkets. Once you select an individual product you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which have it in stock.
- Idealo is another website that lets you compare prices between retailers. All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the website will rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive one.
- CamelCamelCamel only works on goods being sold on Amazon. To use it, type in the URL of the product you want to check the price of.
There are other ways to save on the big uniform shop too as schemes designed to assist the daunting spend are available.
Depending on your financial circumstances, you could claim up to £150 from the council to help towards uniform costs.
It’s worth checking to see if you’re eligible for any help as this could bring down the price of uniforms too.
In the meantime, here’s where you can find the cheapest school uniform this summer before it’s back to the classroom:
Aldi
Aldi declared its uniform would be the cheapest ever earlier in the summer.
To buy the bare essentials you’ll only have to part with £4.50 which will get you a pack of tops, trousers or a skirt and a jumper.
It’s worth keeping in mind that a lot of the stock has already sold out online though as the prices are so low.
It means you’ll have to head out to pick up the bargains, but you can use the store’s checker tool next to the item you’re after to see where it’s available near you.
Otherwise, from the budget supermarket you can get:
Total for cheapest bundle: £4.50
Matalan
Matalan specialises in bargain clothing, so if you don’t fancy picking up the new kit from the same place you get your groceries, you can still get cheap prices from the shop.
Prices start from just £3 at the retailer and getting together a bundle of essentials won’t take you over £10 either.
This is what’s available:
Total for cheapest bundle: £9
Asda
George at Asda caters for all sorts of school uniform needs.
The supermarket is currently pushing its cheap prices with a TV advert that’s gone viral too.
But more importantly, a lot of the stock comes in multipacks which can be great value for money.
You can get trousers in packs of two from the supermarket with prices starting from £6 which ultimately means you’ll nab each pair for only £3.
This is everything else you can get:
- Two-pack of polo shirts – £2.50 – buy now
- Two-pack of trousers – from £6 – buy now
- Skirt – from £3 – buy now
- Two-pack of jumpers – £4 – buy now
- Two-pack shirts – £3 – buy now
Total for cheapest bundle: £9.50
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s TU has a range of cheap school uniform on offer and you could have to only for out £10 for a complete set.
Shoppers have found that Sainsbury’s is selling off “loads” of school shoes for just £1 too, if you need to complete the look.
Otherwise the store is selling:
Total for cheapest bundle: £10
Tesco
Tesco doesn’t have an online clothing shop anymore, which all the F&F wear can only be picked up in-store.
You can use Tesco’s store locator tool to find out where that is though, and head in when you get a chance.
Unfortunately what you can browse online is very limited too.
So while we know that a two-pack of polos is being sold at a bargain price of £2.50, we don’t know what kinds of trousers the supermarket offers and how much they are.
We do know that Tesco has:
- Two-pack of polo shirts – £2.50
- Two-pack skirts – £6
- Two-pack jumpers – £4
- Two-pack long-sleeve shirts – £3.50
Total for cheapest bundle: £12.50
Peacocks
Peacocks has its own school uniform shop live online.
You can pick up trousers and skirts that are school approved, but when we looked we couldn’t find any polo shirts or formal school shirts on offer.
The choice is quite limited but there are still some bargains to be had.
Here’s what you can get from the online store:
Total for cheapest bundle: from £14
Morrisons
Morrisons lists its children’s uniforms on partner site Nutmeg.
Most of the items from the supermarket’s collection comes in two-packs which is great if your stocking up or if you’ve got siblings that are similar sizes.
It also means something like a polo shirt works out to be only £1.25 and skirts are only £3.50 each.
Here’s what you can get:
- Two-pack of polo-shirts – £2.50 – buy now
- Two-pack skirt – £7 – buy now
- Two-pack trousers – £8 – buy now
- Two-pack sweatshirts – £5.50 – buy now
- Two-pack of white shirts – £2.50 – buy now
Total for cheapest bundle: £15
M&S
Marks and Spencer launched a 20% discount at the beginning of the summer on all school uniform across its stores and online where prices started as low as £2.
The sale is no longer on but you can still pick up items from £3.
Here’s everything you can get at their current prices:
Total for cheapest bundle: £15
Next
Next has over 4,000 items to get you prepped for back-to-school season.
The choices are the most expensive on our list, although you can still bag a bundle for under £20.
We narrowed down the cheapest school items Next had on offer:
Total for cheapest bundle: £19
You could find you’re forking out unnecessarily though, as some mums were amazed to find a secret M&S hem trick that means you don’t need to buy new trousers when the kids grow.
We’ve also got a list of the best school bags you can buy this year.
But on the other end of the scale, another mum was left fuming as “outrageous” PE kits cost £100.
70% of parents already preparing to send their kids back to school
