How much will your uniform cost?

It doesn't come naturally to me, but I do try to be organised.

So the week before school broke up for the summer holidays I began buying school uniform for September. And it's rather a good job because the cost needs to be spread.

Max starts Middle School next term and so for the last two years I have been squirrelling away Toby's almost pristine school uniform, ready to pass on.

And then, in true 'we don't realise / care about all the ramifications of our decisions' style, the school decide to change the uniform. Jumpers alone will cost £18 each (only to be lost in the first week of term).

How can schools actually get away with these expectations? I know it's an age old issue, but surely in these days of 'austerity' parents should be let off the hook. Pupils can be smartly dressed for school without having the logo emblazoned on everything from socks to underwear. What on earth is this logo obsession for? They'll be branding the children's foreheads with it next (and we'll have to pay for the privilege too).

And so, by the time September arrives our family will have spent well over £250 on uniform for three children (including the exorbitantly priced shoes, which I am still umming and aahing over). The summer holidays, in which we are now forced to take our holidays instead of cheaper times of year, are expensive enough without adding on the school uniform craziness.

What are your uniform horror stories?