'It's expensive to say the least!' Shropshire parents have their say on cost of uniform as kids go back to school
Shropshire parents speak out on the cost of school uniforms amid the cost of living crisis as 'back to school week' gets under way.
There were large queues outside the ever popular Baker & Son Schoolwear shop in New Street, Wellington on Monday (September 1) as youngsters got kitted out for the new school year.
However, some Shropshire parents have hit out at the “ridiculous”, “disgusting” and “extortionate” cost of uniforms across the county.
A cursory glance at school uniform prices at Shropshire shops online show blazers priced at £38, trousers for £20 and jumpers for £30, which will inevitably end up lost, tied around waists or on the floor for use as makeshift goalposts.
It all adds up.
There have also been reports of secondary school pupils steering clear of certain subjects like PE, music and languages due to struggling families being unable to fork out for expensive sports equipment, musical instruments or foreign exchange trips.
While parents were in good spirits in Wellington as they went to pick up their children’s uniform (and another bill), they told the Shropshire Star of how they are feeling the pinch.
Natalie Zolghadr was with her daughter Amelia, six, who is going back to Apley Wood Primary Academy in Telford this week.
“I think it’s going up every year,” she said of the uniform costs. “It’s not so bad with primary school, it’s when they get to secondary school and it’s £47 for a blazer, that they then go and lose!
