No uniform policy on school clothes and textbooks

Now that the kids are back in school, with their new clothes or uniforms, textbooks, pencils and supplies, parents' wallets are a good bit lighter. However, back-to-school expenses vary widely from school to school.

A Family Money reader from Meath informs us that her daughter attends a public secondary school and, like many schools, the uniform must be purchased from a particular supplier. To outfit the student for the year, it cost £142 for a skirt, tie, two shirts, a wool jumper, a reversible fleece jacket, a sweatshirt and a cotton shirt for physical education class. A navy track suit bottom is also required but may be purchased anywhere. A blazer is also optional. The reader thinks the uniform will last for several years so major uniform purchases will not be required next year.

Other costs incurred are art supplies £7, science lab coat rental £12, shoes £46, a school bag £25, runners £25, Bus Eireann pass for first term £26, school locker rental £10. A voluntary donation of £40 was also given to the school.

New textbooks for the year cost £132 but a small discount was taken off the initial total in exchange for last year's books. The bill included copy books and a maths instruments set but excludes pens, pencils and socks. Our reader spent in excess of £465 for one child's school expenses.

A reader in Dublin with two children in a Harmonstown mixed primary school has fared much better because the children are close in age and most of the books they needed were available in second-hand form. The two book lists including copy books for the year and other forms of stationary would normally cost £70 in total. Since many of the older child's books were handed down to the younger child, the actual costs were reduced significantly. Some schools organise book sales for secondhand books.

Uniforms are not required at the Harmonstown school and there appears to be little brand name label competition among the children, says our reader.

A survey carried out for Family Money last year revealed huge price differences in uniform depending on the schools' requirements. Generic and custom-made uniforms are available but schools decide their own style of dress. The Department of Education has no policy on uniforms but suggests clothing decisions are discussed and made in conjunction with parents. In 1995, the National Parents' Council (NPC) Post Primary compiled a cost-of-going-to-school survey and found the average price of a uniform for a first-year secondary student exceeded £142 a year. Combined with an average in excess of £67 for sports gear, this totals £209.

Custom-made uniforms, often the preserve of fee-paying schools, can be very expensive with the total cost for a uniform and gym gear ranging from £200 to £300.

Textbook prices also depend on the school and individual teachers' curriculum choices. A report by Cooney-Carey Consultants in 1993, commissioned by the Department of Education, "estimated that the costs of books only for primary school pupils average £38.32 per head for pupils in standards I-VI and £11.19 per head for pupils in infant classes".

The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) believes that the cost of books is prohibitively high and constitutes a tax on parents. "In certain subjects, textbooks date easily and the problem is do teachers need to keep up to date," says TUI education and research officer Mr Billy Fitzpatrick.

Because books are updated so often, families are limited on passing on second-hand books, says Mr Fitzpatrick.