Buy nothing until the school's own list is in front of you. Every school uniform checklist online, this one included, is a starting point. The document that decides what you actually spend is the one your child's school publishes, because it is the only place that tells you which items carry a crest and which can be a plain navy jumper from anywhere.
That said, the shape of a full kit is fairly consistent across the country. Here is what a complete primary and secondary list usually contains, how many of each holds up over a year, and the things that never appear on any school list but get asked for in the second week of term.
Two things to confirm before you spend
Which items must be branded. Most schools specify a crested jumper, cardigan or blazer and leave the rest open. A few also brand the PE top or a tie. Anything not on that branded list can be bought as generic uniform, which is usually cheaper and available in a wider spread of sizes and fits.
What the PE requirement actually is. “PE kit” on a list can mean a t-shirt and shorts, or it can mean a games shirt, shorts, long socks, moulded boots, a gumshield and a midlayer for winter fixtures. The gap between those two is large. If the list is vague, email the PE department before ordering. They answer that question dozens of times a week in the run-up to the autumn term.
We hold uniform collections for 87 schools, most of them across Herefordshire and the Welsh borders, from Ledbury Primary School and Leominster Primary School through to Whitecross High School and Wigmore High School. If your school is one of them, its own page lists the crested items that school approves, which takes most of the guesswork out of the branded question. Start at the school uniform directory and find yours.
Primary school: the checklist
Everyday uniform
- Polo shirts or shirts, in the school's colour
- Crested sweatshirt or cardigan — usually the one genuinely branded item
- Trousers, skirt, pinafore or shorts
- Summer dress, if the school has one, for the first and last half terms
- Socks or tights in the school colour
- School shoes, black in most cases
- Coat that fits over a jumper and survives a wet playground
PE
- Plain t-shirt, often in a house colour
- Shorts, plus jogging bottoms for outdoor PE in the winter terms
- Trainers — a separate pair from the school shoes, kept in the bag
- Drawstring PE bag
- Swim kit if swimming is on the timetable, usually for one term of the year
The bits that are not on the list
- Wellingtons and waterproof trousers for forest school or outdoor learning sessions
- A named water bottle and a book bag or rucksack that fits an A4 reading folder
- Spare pants and socks in the bag for the youngest year groups
- Sun hat and a named coat peg-friendly loop sewn into the collar
Secondary school: the checklist
Everyday uniform
- Crested blazer, and a crested jumper if the school uses both
- Tie, usually house or year-specific and only available through the school or its supplier
- Shirts, formal rather than polo in most secondaries
- Tailored trousers or skirt to the school's stated cut and length
- Black school shoes, and be aware some schools rule out anything with a visible logo or a trainer-style sole
- Coat that meets the school's rules on plain colours and hoods
PE and games
- PE top, often crested and often in two versions, one for indoor and one for games
- Shorts, skort or leggings depending on the school's options
- Long games socks in school colours
- Trainers for indoor and moulded boots for outdoor games
- Gumshield for rugby and hockey, shin pads for football and hockey
- Midlayer or tracksuit top for winter fixtures
Bag and equipment
- Rucksack big enough for A4 folders, a PE kit and a packed lunch on the same day
- Pencil case with the specific maths kit the school asks for, usually a scientific calculator, protractor and compass
- Apron or overall for food technology and art, sometimes school-specific
- Locker padlock, if the school issues lockers
How many of each
The honest quantities, based on what comes back for replacement mid-year and what does not:
- Shirts or polos: five. Enough to get through a week without a mid-week wash, which is the single change that reduces the laundry load most.
- Trousers or skirts: two minimum, three if your child is in an infant class or plays football at break. Knees are the first thing to go.
- Crested jumper or blazer: one. It is the expensive item and it wears slowly. Air it rather than washing it every week.
- PE kit: one set, unless PE falls on consecutive days.
- Shoes: one good pair, plus separate trainers. A second cheap pair is rarely worth it.
What to buy in the summer, and what to wait on
Buy the crested items early. They are school-specific, they run out of the middle sizes first, and there is no alternative supplier to fall back on in the last week of the holidays.
Buy shoes late. Feet grow over six weeks of running about in sandals, and a pair fitted in early July can be tight by the first week of September. The last ten days of the holiday is the right window, and it is worth booking a fitting rather than turning up on the Saturday everyone else has the same idea.
Wait on the rest. Second sets of anything, the winter coat, the games midlayer and any subject-specific kit can all wait until the school has confirmed what it actually wants. Plenty of families buy a full winter games kit in August for a child who turns out to be doing hockey indoors until Christmas.
The five-minute version
Get the school's list. Identify the crested items and order those first. Count the shirts, then the trousers, then everything else. Fit the shoes last. Label the lot before the first morning, not after the first loss.
Everyday uniform, PE kit and coats sit in our clothing range, school shoes and trainers in footwear, and rucksacks and PE bags in bags. If your school has its own crested items, its page will show exactly which ones they are.