School uniforms defended as cheaper

Back-to-school costs are hitting Tauranga families this week, but the principal of Tauranga's largest high school says $400 for 40 weeks of clothing is cheap and parents need to budget for it.

Otumoetai College principal Dave Randell said he was frustrated by the annual outcry over the price of school uniforms when the alternative would be much more costly.

The cost of paying for teenagers to wear mufti all year would be "unbelievable", he said.

"There's no way they would wear the same [mufti] jersey for 40 weeks," he told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.

Like car insurance, or other annual bills, parents knew their children would need uniforms in January and should budget accordingly, Mr Randell said.

"I think schools are trying to help by having a uniform."

He did not allow students to wear polo shirts without the school's crest printed on them.

"The cost of them is not much more because it's a bulk order," he said.

The crest - which included the school motto, "Let learning enlighten life" - gave students a sense of belonging and school pride, he said.

Students and staff recently selected a school jacket from a range of style options to be added to the uniform. The jacket cost $95 and could be worn for five years, costing parents $20 a year, Mr Randell said.

Many departing seniors donated their uniforms back to the school, receiving a discount on the cost of their leavers' dinner in return.

Principal of decile-one Merivale Primary School Jan Tinetti said the school adopted plain blue polo shirts and black shorts or trousers as an affordable school uniform.

The polo shirts didn't have a logo on them and were available from the school for $10 each. The school would also lend a child a uniform that he or she could change in and out of at the beginning and end of the day.

A uniform gave students a sense of identity, Ms Tinetti said. "Kids know what they are wearing now."

It also removed any clothing-related stigma or teasing.

The school also supplied all its students' sunhats that were returned and drycleaned at the end of the year. "Really the outlay is $10 for the shirt," she said.

Active School Wear manager Kat Stephenson said parents seemed more relaxed while shopping for uniforms this year.

Business at the store, which catered for most Tauranga secondary and intermediate schools, had been on a par with last year, she said.

"The days are all kind of rolling into one at the moment."

Manager of New Zealand Uniforms Tauranga Tracy Biddle said Tuesday this week was the biggest retail day the store had experienced "in a long time".

The store now stocked uniforms for 19 Tauranga schools, ranging from "little country ones to big colleges".

On average parents of new school starters could expect to pay less than $200 for a school uniform, including two tops and bottoms, a polarfleece and a hat, she said. Parents of high school students could expect a bill of about $400.

The store's Uniform Club was proving popular, allowing parents to pay a weekly or fortnightly amount into an account, ready for use when required.