The cheapest retailers to buy a new school uniform in the UK have been revealed.

Online price tracking website www.alertr.co.uk monitored a range of children’s primary schoolwear across seven of the most popular clothing retailers to determine where is currently offering the best value for money.

Which retailer was the cheapest?

Sainsbury’s came out as the best place to buy if parents were to shop for ages 4-5, 7-8 and 10-11.

Which retailers did they look at?

The team at the price drop notification site tracked six school clothing items from school shirts to school skirts across popular retailers including:

  • M&S
  • John Lewis
  • Asda
  • Next
  • Sainsbury’s
  • Matalan
  • Debenhams

What items did they check?

Items tracked were a range of like-for-like products including shirts, polo shirts, jumpers, cardigans, trousers and skirts.

As prices can vary depending on the age of the child, the Alertr team compared prices of uniform for ages 4-5, 7-8 and 10-11.                                                                           

Some retailers had multi-pack options and the total number of items included within them was occasionally different (e.g. two pack in one retailer, but three pack in another).

In those instances, researchers divided the total price of the multipack by the number of items within it to reveal the price customers would pay per item, to ensure the results were not unfairly skewed.

The results therefore hypothetically reflect buying one of each item to determine value for money.

Sainsbury’s came out on top as the retailer with the best value for money for their child’s school uniform, whilst John Lewis was revealed as the retailer offering least value for money on a per item basis.

The full break down with costs can be found below:

  • 4-5 years:
  1. Sainsbury’s - £15.60 (if parents were able to buy just one of all six items. Cost will vary depending on the number of items parents need)
  2. Asda - £19.75
  3. Matalan - £20.50
  4. Debenhams - £25.90
  5. Next - £33.50
  6. M&S - £36.30
  7. John Lewis - £45.00

​

  • 7-8 years:
  1. Sainsbury’s - £19.50
  2. Matalan - £25.50
  3. Asda - £28.50
  4. Debenhams - £30.10
  5. Next - £39.50
  6. M&S - £42.33
  7. John Lewis - £55.00
  • 10-11 years:
  1. Sainsbury’s - £20.50
  2. Asda - £29.25
  3. Matalan - £30.00
  4. Debenhams - £30.10
  5. Next - £47.50
  6. M&S - £50.00
  7. John Lewis - £64.00

The price comparison site has noted that the prices shown above reflect value for money on a per item basis. When looking at the total cost of the uniform including the total cost of multipacks, the prices will occasionally be more for each retailer; but that isn’t an accurate reflection of the best value for money, due to how it skews the results.

Matalan’s school jumper is £5.00 for a child aged 8. However, at Asda, they only had a multipack of two jumpers available priced at £8.00 for ages 7-8. Asda works out to be the best value for money in this case, as parents can get two jumpers and save £2 in the process, compared to if they were to shop school jumpers at Matalan where it would cost them £10.00 for two.

What have researchers said?

Andy Barr, personal finance expert and co-founder of online price tracking website www.alertr.co.uk, commented on the findings.

He said: “As we approach the end of the summer holidays, after a strange time for kids due to lockdown, the rush to get everything sorted for ‘back to school’ is on.

"Many people have a perception of Sainsbury’s that it’s more on the expensive side, but that’s certainly not what we witness at Alertr; this isn’t the first time the supermarket chain has beaten seemingly ‘cheaper’ stores like Asda in terms of price for various things.

"Buying all the items needed for a child’s return to school for a new academic year can be expensive business, which will now be felt more than ever as parents suffer the financial impact of lockdown that has hit many people.”