The Summer Holidays are drawing to end, but some parents are finding it expensive getting the kids ready for the first day of term - with one mum saying buying uniforms will "break the bank" ahead of the new school year.
Mum Chloe Adomaitis has to cut back on other thing in order to afford the cost of school uniforms for her children, report Grimsby Live.
Chloe, who needs to equip children aged between nine and 17 for the new year, says she has already spent around £200 buying the best value uniforms she can, but says the cost would be a lot more if she buys each child more than one set of clothes.
She said: "It is so expensive but I do the best I can for my kids."
According to a national study by the Department for Education, parents spend around £230 on uniform per child – that is excluding PE kit which can be branded with school logos.
The research shows kit for PE can add up to £70 onto a parent's uniform bill at primary school age and a whopping £140 for secondary school kits.
While slightly cheaper for primary school uniforms, the average spend is still well over £210 per pupil.
And, even purchasing from the most affordable high street ranges including Asda George, Matalan, Marks and Spencer and more- it's still giving parents a hefty bill.
With many secondary schools insisting pupils wear branded uniform which can often only be purchased through select shops and not cheaper supermarket chains, the cost adds up and puts strain on families, particularly those with more children.
Chloe said: "It's going to be a nightmare when we have four kids going into secondary school together in the space of two years. It’s going to absolutely break the bank.
"When you have to buy the ones that are labelled when they get to secondary school and they have to be exactly right, you can't have certain shoes and the blazers run out so quickly, that’s tough.
"One might break a pair of shoes or another might come in with felt tip on one shirt and the next day their shirt is dirty.
"You end up meeting yourself coming backwards and robbing Peter to pay Paul."
Another mum who has three children says secondary school is far more expensive due to the branded clothing required.
She said: "I find that primary schools are a bit more affordable than what the secondary schools are because you pay a lot of money. All in all it’s cost me over £200 to kit them both out.
"It’s a hell of a lot. I’ve not even bought school shoes or new rucksacks yet. All in all it'll be about £300."
While primary schools are more lenient when it comes to branded uniform, it can still put a financial strain on families living on a smaller income.
One single mum said if she didn’t scrimp and save earlier in the year she would seriously struggle to pay for new uniform come the end of the summer holidays.
"I think overall I’ve probably spent around £200 but then I’ve got two pairs of shoes and three coats to get, so that’s easily an extra £100,” she said.
"I would definitely be struggling if Aldi and Lidl hadn’t put their uniform on sale. It would probably have cost me another £200 on top otherwise. That’s not a joke.
"We've never had a holiday abroad, we’ve never been out the country. I know there’s so much more I need to pay for because I’m on my own and it’s even worse."
