THE day is fast approaching - the kids go back to school after the summer holidays. But before the big day, parents are having to shell out for an entire new uniform to fit their children for the next school year. And while there are more and more shops putting their prices down to make things easier for parents, the bill can still be extortionate considering they also have to buy shoes and stationery.
So mum-of-three Sarah Merrygold - wife of JLS singer Aston - decided to see if she could get an entire look for her youngest for under £50. She documented the trip in a video on her TikTok page, as she began: "When it comes to back to school, let's face it, it's not cheap. "And now I have Macaulay starting reception, he needs everything too!" Read more Parenting stories First off were the school trousers, with Sarah picking up two pairs for the "great price" of £6.
50. She then got a pair of black trainer shoes for £12, as well as a 10-pack of white socks for £2.80.
"There is loads of choice when it comes to stationery too, so something to keep all our little ones happy," Sarah continued. As Macaulay is a Spiderman fan, Sarah picked up a themed stationery set for £4, and a cute backpack. Most read in Fabulous "The question is, have I managed to stay under £50 though?" she concluded.
She then showed Macaulay kitted out in his school look, as she revealed she'd spent £47.80 in total. "Let’s face it going back to school isn’t cheap especially if you have more than one to buy for!" Sarah captioned the video.
"So I set myself a challenge to see if I could get a full school uniform from @Primark for under £50. "Including, shoes, stationery the lot!" While Sarah's video has had over 83,000 likes, there were some in the comments section that insisted it's much harder to find cheap uniform for high school kids. But there are a few ways you can make school uniform last longer.
Lacey Roebuck, Commercial Manager at Sports Direct , shared her top tips, kicking off with "reinforcing high-wear areas with fusible interfacing". IF you are struggling to afford the cost of school uniform or PE kit, you may be able to apply for a grant from your local council - but the criteria vary from council to council. This is usually in the form of a one-off payment paid directly into your bank account.
Some councils will reimburse payments made to approved retailers. You can ask your local council what help is available and when you need to apply. If you can't get targeted help from your council, there are other options to get cheap uniform.
Speak to your school to see if they can offer you some clothing. Some charities offer help to families in need too. Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you.
Charity shops can also be a good place to find cheap school uniform. "A common item among the sewing community, fusible interfacing is an inexpensive hack for reinforcing high-wear areas in your child’s uniform and is super simple to install," she said. "Gather all of their items of clothing before the term starts and cut out square pieces of iron-on fusible interfacing and attach them to the inside of areas such as knees, elbows, or hems.
"This will help to prevent tears and extend the garment’s life." It's also a good idea to use a fabric protector, Lacey said, adding: "Spray each item prior to their first wear and then continue this after every few washes. "It will help stains from setting in and will make any spillages easier to clean when they get home.
" And another thing you can do is "consider bigger sizes and use metal poppers". READ MORE SUN STORIES "Another inexpensive hack for making your child’s uniform last a little longer is buying the item in a size above their usual size, and installing metal poppers near the hem, so you can easily adjust the length of the item as they grow," Lacey said. "This works best on items such as trousers or shorts and dresses or skirts where the length can be altered.
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