A SURVEY has shown that parents are spending almost £200 on school uniforms, and parents in the area are feeling the effects.

Research from Nationwide Credit Cards shows that British parents will spend an average of £186.24 per child, getting them kitted out.

It means that £1.56bn will have been spent this summer, ensuring the country’s 8.4 million school children were ready for the start of the new term.

With so many items needed, parents are concerned about how they are going to finance these purchases. Around three in five, 59 per cent, are concerned about how they will pay for everything, while the Nationwide survey also highlighted that more parents worry about the cost of the back-to-school period, 40 per cent, than they worry about how much the school holidays are going to cost.

While specialist shops requested by the school and the school themselves remain the predominant place for parents to purchase all the necessary school uniform, more and more parents are turning to supermarkets and department stores for items in the hope of keeping costs down.

One parent noted that while it was an easy process going through the child’s school, it was extremely expensive.

“You have to order through the school directly, there is a long list of compulsory wear and it is 90 per cent with logos, which is the cost. To buy shirts, tie, sports socks, shin pads, sports shorts, sport polo shirt, rugby shirt, sports fleece and jumpers was £167.”

She added that further expense on stationery and pieces of uniform not available through the school bought the total up to around £300, “An awful lot for those on a small income.”

Another mother echoed those thoughts. “ To kit my daughter out with uniform alone has cost around £250, including school shoes, socks etc.

“Then factor in a school bag, maths set, calculator, stationery, labels, locker etc and it’s easily another £50.

“However, when I balanced it out with the cost of after-school clubs at junior school, I’m actually less out of pocket than at junior school.

“At the induction evening the staff told us that the PTA raises a staggering amount of money to support the school, so it’s reassuring to know that the cost of the uniform is going back into providing extra stuff for the school and not lining pockets of shops.”

Parents turning to these shops and department stores have struggled this summer with the availability of uniform, with many not able to cope with the demand from parents.

Richard Mould, Nationwide’s head of credit cards, commented: “Going back to school can be an expensive time for parents, particularly after the summer holidays.

“It doesn’t just stop once kids are back at school either because parents then have to turn their attention to how their children are going to get to school and be fed at lunchtime. It’s no wonder that parents see school as a never-ending vicious cycle of costs.”