In some countries such as Thailand the school uniform is the same for all schools throughout the country. This has several advantages;
1. Prices are very low as many companies make the uniforms.
2. Uniforms can be passed down from child to child or sold off locally when no longer needed.
3. Kids and parents don’t have to think about what clothes to wear everyday as they will have a couple of uniforms for school. Many parents and kids prefer to have uniforms than wear regular clothes.

I manage to get most of my kids school uniform in penneys or Dunnes and only need to buy a school crest for jumper. School books are expensive for 1st year but many of the books are used for 3 years.

Was talking to a lad yesterday who estimates that he’s gonna have to spend around €300 on stuff for his son starting school soon.

That’s for all books, uniform, tracksuit and random fees the school charges.
Dunno how people could spend €600 on their kids unless they were buying several uniforms or something.

Although, in saying that – the cost of books and uniforms does seem to be a bit excessive.
When a book sells well, the price usually goes down.

However, for the books actually needed for education for children, the prices remain at, what seems to be, an unnecessary price.

The uniforms should be made by Penny’s or something as well.
For as far as I can see, the quality from specialist school providers is no better – the only difference is that it has a specialist crest.

It’s pretty typical in Ireland for for necessitiesto be overpriced.

The whole school uniform debacle has been a scam for years, also like certain companies that have a cartel on the schoolbooksused ,in some eu countries the junior schoolkids all wear outergarments that covers their everyday clothes and costls little money and all the state schools use these so no need for changing uniform if changing school and also can be passed on ,all this crests and emblem thing is just status seeking and schools trying to portray a certain image instead of concentrating on giving a better level of education to its students

Its disgraceful that one head of a school is allowed to tell hundreds of parents they are forced just to go to a sole trader – who can charge whatever the hell they like!
As reported often, in some cases between 250 and 300 Euro a child

There is also some suspicion that SOME of the heads of these schools might be getting a backhander, to get the parents to go to some particular clothing makers!

The law should be changed in regard to their ability to legally strong-arm parents to just one business and no one else!
Its a legalised monopoly!

Some schools or persons involved by the sounds of things, deserve further financial investigation to see who is possibly gaining on the quiet!
It certainly not the parents of Ireland!

“Rip-off Ireland” still going it seems!

god help parents if theres any children heading for college as well 2250euro to send to our great colleges whos presidents have demanded higher fees but havent bothered to even take meaningful pay cuts themselves…….but don’t worry folks the so called experts will still spout out that education is still relatively free in ireland, which is like saying bertie ahern is a saint!

Some secondary schools have brought in ‘Rent a book’ schemes and these reduce costs substantially.

I have two in school ….. Thankfully we have a book rental but I start saving in sept, when the kids go back to cover next yrs stuff…. Free education my ass

im lucky enough to send my 2 daughters to a school that stopped using the schools crest on their uniform a few years ago. the have to wear the school tracksuit which costs aprox 30 but is good quality. their books cost 90 and 120 euro.
always shop around for generic uniforms don’t just assume than pennys and dunnes are cheapest (dunnes trousers skirts and jumpers have gone up by e2 since last year)
they don’t HAVE to wear brand name trainers and ask yourself do they really NEED a new school bag or is last years one still in good nick? i find alot of parents think that everything needs to be brand new going back to school but its not really necessary i always use my eldest daughters clothes for my youngest. alot of charity shops are now stocking uniforms too so its worth having a look.

Ive anticipated over 650 as my daughter’s first year uniform cost over 400 euro.

School skirt (tartan not generic) 90 e
School trousers 30 e
School blouse x 2 40e
School jumper crested 70e
School jacket crested 60e
School socks 30e
School shoes decks on sale 70e was 99e

Now I have thought ahead, I’ve got everything bar the shoes 2 sizes to big so she will have them for 3 years, oh yeah in 3 years the uniform changes…. 4th and 5th years wear a different uniform.

Generic uniforms would be great, the quality of the uniform I got for my daughter is good and I have no doubt it will last 3 year’s ( bar the trousers and socks) generic uniforms can be cheap and can last too.

I would be interested to know how many of the parents on here complaining about the costs of going back to school have bothered getting involved in school activities such as becoming members of the parents councils and the Boards of Management of these schools to argue for change from within.

If a majority of parents resent this in a particular school can’t they, via some sort of PTA, do something about it?

Schools depend on parents, if parents just roll over it’s no wonder the schools get away with it.

How about the schools not bother with the ludicrously overpriced uniforms and just let the children wear their normal clothes which they have to buy anyway? They’re children, not soldiers.

Crikey, 600 seems like a pittance compared to childcare costs. I can’t wait for my yearly costs to drop from 8,000 a year per child in creche charges, to 600 a year in uniforms and books.

I’ll be the person buying jumpers and stitching the crest on myself though.

So far this year I have had to spend 250 on a new uniform, the school has decided to change the uniform so no change of second hand either, approx 200 on books and stationary, 150 voluntary contribution, another 200 for transition years extras. 700 euros and we don’t qualify for any back to school allowances. I am really struggling to find it all and I only have one child in school. I know of parents who are going without basics just to cover the costs.

Schools really have parents over a barrel, there is not even an option in our school to rent books or buy them through the school and pay them off over the school year which would take some pressure off. I don’t know of any school that has done anything to make it easier for parents.

Research???!!!! Pah.

Who are Tesco, Dunnes and Aldi selling all the €20 uniforms to? Assuming some people buy them, and to get the average cost here, then everyone who’s not must be kitting their kids out in Prada gear.
Seen the ‘online budgeting tool’? What ya do is ya put all your expenses in little boxes, and the the ‘online budgeting tool’ adds them up for ya! Thanks NCA!!
How about the ‘money saving tips’? ‘Packed lunches are cheaper than shop bought lunches’. ‘Consider buying second hand schoolbooks’. Jaysus wept.

Do we have to give the term ‘research’ a legal standing!!??

650? … My son is going into 1st year community school – not private.
So far…
400€ for the uniform including school sports gear. Not including shoes and runners.
300 € for books I’ve got so far
350€ for school material and sports equipment money, “voluntary contribution” (that’s not so voluntary), locker, and books sourced and provided by the school.
350 for school bus
Shoes and runners I still have to get as I said about.

… And then I’ve a daughter going into 5 th class. It’s difficult to say the least

Free education in Ireland my arse! It’s an absolute disgrace!

the minister for education was asked when he came to his new role about sorting out the crowd that sell these hugely bloated school books and why was some books only minimally changed but yet still had to be used when the years previous book could be used, of course he said at the time he would talk to the book sellers to see could something be done……………thats like asking the minister in charge of energy to have a word with bord gais and the esb about stopping price hikes when there bosses are earning fat salaries at the end of the day brown envelopes talk to our politicians on things like this there needs to be a boycott by parents of new books in schools until some agreement is reached!

Up to 620? Pardon a pedant but couldn’t be a anywhere from zero up. Likewise with the ” up to… On average”. Lazy language loses all significance.

Barnados are great…why don’t you’s pay for the people that can’t afford uniforms..instead of moaning that the government are not handing out money that they don’t have to pay for it