Yes, they do. You will have plenty of occasions to buy second-hand uniform from CCHSG PTFA.

Yes, usually the first opportunity for Year 7s is at the Induction Evening if I remember correctly. The PTA have a stall at every parents evening and event that parents are invited to, including the summer/christmas fairs.

We found that there was an occasional gem, but due to the initial cost of buying uniform the more expensive donated stuff is often quite tired and well worn, because everyone wants to get their moneys worth out of it. Sports kit is usually in good condition - its the blazers that suffer the most!

Its also worth checking to see if Coes do any offers. The year DD started they offered a £25 Coes voucher if you spent a certain amount before the 1st August. Paid for a pair of trainers and part of a swimsuit.

DD survived to Year 9 with one blazer, two skirts and five shirts, plus her full PE kit/overall. I find the uniform dries really quickly on hangers and I wash it all on a delicate cycle, low spin. I am not brave enough to tumble dry anything other than the shirts.

Did they keep the rest of the swimsuit put by for you?

(Sorry... ).

_________________
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Thank you. That is really useful info! I’ll be sure to bring some cash with me on the info evening then. Hopefully we’ll be lucky!

As it happens, Coes is offering £20 off a £100 online shop before 2nd June if one signs up to their newsletter.

What would you say are absolute essentials for a Year 7?

Day uniform
PE kit - shirt/shorts?
Apron?

Sadly I had to use actual cash money for the other half of the swimsuit.

I would say absolute essentials are:

A blazer
At least two skirts
Four shirts
Overall for science and art
PE kit - shorts, trousers, sweatshirt and polo shirt - one of each
White socks (don't buy these from Coes)
Navy ankle socks (don't buy these from Coes)
Trainers (buy from anywhere, they don't have to be completely plain, teachers turn a blind eye to anything thats not lurid/eyecatching)
Swimsuit (anywhere)
Rucksack (anywhere)
The special maths calculator
Maths set
Stationery especially the ubiquitous green and purple biros which are the bane of my life.
Glue sticks

Things you probably don't need:

DD says she never wears the long navy logged cross country socks, certainly they come home clean each half term
Two pairs of trainers
Cardigans
School wrap
School scarf/hat etc
Butchers apron - we got a letter from the PTA saying they were buying a set to be communal at school as they have had such little use out of them.
A coat. DD says they are a pain in the bum to manage at school. The blazer is pretty water resistant. DD has a twenty minute walk home though rather than a long wait at a bus stop. I'd probably go for an umbrella and a warm hat instead.

Second hand prices at the school sales are around 50% of the original price, except for the blazers which are usually around £20-25.

All the things on my essential list cost about £480 in one trip to Coes, which didn't include all the extras like schools shoes and stationery that they don't sell. It lasted until the first term of Year 9 when DD had a growth spurt which took her to 5 foot 7. Then I had to buy two new skirts and four new shirts (£130) from Coes. We were gifted a larger blazer by a leaving Year 11 thank god! I get all DD's replacement PE kit from the school uniform sales, its a bit stretchier and more forgiving than the school uniform which doesn't have much give.

That is a long list indeed! Right, better look for a cheaper campsite to go to this summer!
Thanks for your help xx

PS: what special calculator? Maths set? Is it just the scientific calculator they sell at Tesco and Oxford set?

Happy to help! I was very lucky to have a friend with a child two years ahead who talked me through it. It’s nice to be able to help someone else.

The maths set is protractor/compass/set square thing. I just picked up a replacement for DD from Wilkos for £3, I think the brand I bought this time was Oxford.

The calculator is a scientific calculator, they want a certain one. DD’s one is the Casio FX85GTPLUS, but the school will tell you the exact model to buy, I don’t know if they have changed to a newer and better model. It’s between £10 and £20.

It’s worth telling your DD to keep an eye on her stuff, DD kept her PE kit in her locker even though it was a faff. Towards the end of term there was a lot of borrowing from accessible PE bags and several of DD’s classmates lost bits of PE kit for good.

We didn’t buy a raspberry pi until the end of year 8 when DD chose to do Computer Science for GCSE.

If your daughter wants any reassurance or advice I am happy to pass questions onto DD. DD did say to take a notebook and pen for the induction day they go to, she got some of her new classmates to write down their phone numbers and email addresses. She was able to get to know some of them better over the summer.

It’s a big initial outlay but it does last and it wears well for something they wear daily for years. If DD hadn’t expanded in length (4 inches over 6 months ), hip and chest, we could probably have got another year out of the uniform. We spread the cost over July, August and September which helped.

Does Coes come to the school at all for uniform sales or can we only get it from the shop in Ipswich?

No, they don't come to school. We always go to Ipswich shop. You're able to order online and have it delivered but it is best to go in person the first time round to have the correct sizes of kilt and blazer etc.



The swimsuit and the navy socks are not absolute essentials. My DD has only ever used white ankle socks and swimsuit has never been used in school in almost 2 years. I would buy swimsuit when the school asks you to and not before.

In our case, PE trousers have just been a waste as DD prefers to use her shorts with skins underneath in winter. Healthy living apron has also been a waste as DD didn't have any lessons in year 7 and only 3 this year. As mentioned above, the PTFA now have some aprons for children to use, so you don't have to buy that or have the name embroidered. They sent an email to that effect few months back.