Families struggle to buy school uniforms

The high cost for school uniforms are forcing an increasing number of parents to seek help with school uniform costs, with the number of struggling families applying for Work and Income school uniform grants jumping 70 per cent over the past two years.

A total of 354 people applied for $74,778 worth of grants last year, up from 2009 when 223 applied for $43,519 worth of grants. 

A typical secondary school uniform for a Year 9 student can cost about $700. However, some parents are paying more than $1000 to send their children to school in the right clothes.

Parents generally buy a jersey, dress or shorts, PE uniform, tie, shoes, school bag and socks. On top of this, schools often ask for donations and fees that, in some cases, add up to more than $300. Once summer school uniforms and extra children are taken into account, the bill increases further. 

Budget-wise parents are increasingly using Trade Me to pick up secondhand uniforms. 

Palmerston North Boys’ High School jumpers were listed for $15 earlier this month, and a secondhand Palmerston North Girls’ High School kilt would set parents back $75. 

A Trade Me spokesman said nationally there were 22,000 school uniforms listed in January this year, 22 per cent higher than last year. “There’s some significant seasonal variation in uniform listings, and January is definitely the high water mark. 

“We saw almost twice as many listings in January 2011 as in the last six months of 2010.” 

Parents are budgeting ahead for the costs. 

Maureen McGillivray has just sent her son to Feilding High School. She set up an automatic payment of $15 during his first intermediate year to avoid the shock of big school fees. 

Her son’s uniform cost about $300, while stationery added $125 to the fees. 

“It wasn’t too bad because I had an idea of how much it would cost,” she said. However, she was still deciding whether her son required a laptop for school. 

School uniform costs and fees also varied between schools. At Freyberg HS a school uniform started at $268, while a parent with a student at College House at Palmerston North BHS would pay closer to $1000.