Shop selling second-hand school uniforms for £5
A charity shop in Romford run by S.M.I.L.E. London & Essex offers second‑hand school uniforms for £5 to help families with rising living costs. The swap shop provides around 1,000 items and serves about 500 children each year, with demand increasing. It remains open to the public until 22 August and also accepts donations of uniform items and offers reduced‑price shoes and football boots.
- ▪The shop sells second‑hand school uniforms for a flat fee of £5, significantly cheaper than the typical £300‑400 cost per child.
- ▪S.M.I.L.E. London & Essex reports having about 1,000 uniform items and serving roughly 500 children annually, with numbers growing each year.
- ▪Parents such as Sandra Koli say the affordable price reduces anxiety about school expenses.
- ▪The Department for Education estimates average uniform spending at just under £250, with PE kit adding about £140.
- ▪The swap shop also provides shoes and football boots at reduced prices and accepts donations of back‑to‑school packs for disadvantaged families.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — Business |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxe31e3enqo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:19:34 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-08T07:20:47.616Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-08T07:20:47.616Z |
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| Cluster | t4uvQPZmQnVr · 1 stories |
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Shop selling second-hand school uniforms for £5Image caption, Mum Sandra Koli visited the swap shop with her two daughters ByBriohny WilliamsLondonPublished1 minute agoAn east London charity shop where parents can pick up school uniforms for £5 is helping with the rising cost of living, users have said.This is the eighth year that S.M.I.L.E. London & Essex, which "provides support to families facing poverty, homelessness, and hardship", runs the swap shop for uniforms from its premises in Romford.Parent Sandra Koli, on a visit to the shop, told BBC London: "It helps me not to be anxious, because the price is really affordable so I don't have to worry too much."This is the right time for it, because by the end of August it will be really crowded and much more expensive - so I can relax and…
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