Uniform costs worry parents

New research among parents of children aged between four and 16 found the average “back to school” cost per child is £186, meaning families collectively spending more than £1.5 billion on sending their offspring back to school.

Clothing and footwear makes up the bulk of the costs, the research found, with school uniforms, shoes, jackets and sports kits costing more than £100 combined.

Sports equipment, school bags, stationary, books and technology such as tablets to help their child’s education also help to bump up the cost, especially as many schools in Wigan now require items of uniform to carry their logos, especially sports kits.

The findings also show how many parents are turning to supermarkets to kit out their youngsters for the new school year. Discount chains Lidl and Aldi have been helping to fuel school uniform price wars.

Some 46% of parents said they will buy their child’s school shirt from a supermarket, while 47% will get their child’s school skirt or trousers from there.

While 43% of parents plan to buy their child’s school shoes from a department store, one in four (25%) will buy them from a supermarket.

The research suggests parents are more likely to worry about the cost of the back-to-school period than they are about the cost of the school holidays.

More than half (51%) of parents will use money in their current account to fund their back- to-school purchases,

Many parents will also be relying on their own parents to foot the bill - with more than one in 10 (11%) saying their child’s grandparents will be financing back-to-school purchases.

Here is the average amount parents expect to spend on back to school costs per child, according to Nationwide:

* School uniform clothing, £31.29

* School shoes, £25.90

* Jackets and coats, £22.17

* Sports shoes, £19.44

* Sports kit, £16.36

* Sports equipment, £8.95

* School bags, £12.35

* Stationery, £9.21

* Books, £7.85

* Lunch boxes, £6.60

* Technology, £26.12

* Total, £186.24