PARENTS in Worcestershire spent almost £22 million on school uniforms in the last year.

A report by The Children’s Society has revealed the “unreasonable” figure, with an average family forking out between £251 and £316 annually for each child.

Parents are so stretched financially across the county by the £21,801,783 uniform bill that 16,184 children went to school in incorrect, unclean or poorly fitting uniform, according to the research.

Rob Willoughby, area director for The Children’s Society in the West Midlands, said: “Parents are fed up with paying the costs of stringent and prescriptive school uniform requirements that deprive them of the choice to shop around for prices they can afford.

“They are digging ever deeper into their pockets to pay for book bags and blazers when what they really want is for their children to receive a good education and a good start in life.

“We know that children whose parents cannot afford the cost of specialist uniforms face punishment and bullying for not having exactly the right clothes or kit.

“It’s time for the government to introduce legally binding rules to stop schools from making parents pay over the odds for items available only at specialist shops.”

The charity’s report ‘The Wrong Blazer: Time for action on school uniform costs’ claims much of the high cost can be chalked up to school uniform policies.

These rules make parents buy specific items of clothing and accessories from specialist shops rather than allowing them to grab bargains from supermarkets and sew on a badge or logo later.

A survey of 1,000 parents by the charity found 95 per cent believe this approach and the amount they are expected to pay is “unreasonable”.

The research shows that the average family pays £251 per year for each child at a state primary school and £316 for a child at a state secondary, while costs for parents who have to buy from specific suppliers are an average of £93 and £48 higher for primary and secondary school pupils respectively.

It adds that an estimated one million children in England live in families that have cut back on food or got into debt as a result of uniform costs.

The report, which was commissioned to support the work of the Children’s Commission on Poverty, is calling for action from the government to make sure uniforms are more affordable.

For more details visit childrenssociety.org.uk