School opens uniform shop to sell items 'at cost'

The Winston Churchill School in Woking, a Surrey secondary school, has launched its own uniform shop, enabling it to sell items to pupils at cost price. This initiative aims to reduce expenses for families, with parents able to purchase skirts, ties, and PE kits either on-site or online without any markup from the school's acquisition cost.

Head teacher Zoe Johnson-Walker stated that this new approach has resulted in a £20 reduction in the price of school blazers compared to the previous academic year. She informed the BBC, "We've been trying to reduce the cost of our uniform over a couple of years."

The school's uniform was redesigned for the 2026-27 academic year, aligning with new government regulations that limit secondary schools to three branded items, in addition to a branded tie. The Department for Education estimates these new rules could save parents up to £50. A spokesperson for the department commented, "Parents have told us they want fewer costly branded items – and that's exactly what we're delivering. School uniform matters, but it shouldn't break the bank."

Johnson-Walker revealed that the school had initially considered removing branded blazers from its uniform, as they were "one of our most expensive items," but encountered "quite a large demand from parents to sell it with the badge on." She added, "We've managed to do a negotiation with our supplier which means that there's no additional cost to parents to have a badged item." The school also discontinued branded PE tops but now offers plain, black PE shirts in its uniform shop following parental requests. Johnson-Walker emphasized, "We're also trying to maintain standards because uniform, as far as we're concerned, is quite levelling."

Nicola Dawes, chief executive of the family support charity Stripey Stork, highlighted the "additional pressure on families from a cost perspective" during the back-to-school period. Through its School Days campaign, which is in its fourth year and receives council funding and donations of pre-loved items, the organization distributed over 15,000 uniform items and approximately 1,500 pairs of school shoes over the summer. Dawes noted, "It's something we've put a bigger priority on it in terms of our work because we realise how important it is."