Parents start back-to-school shop in the first week of summer to ease costs
Families are set to spend more than £100 per child
A survey suggests families are shopping for next year's uniform as early as the first week of the summer holidays.
With parents set to spend more than £100 per child on "back to school" clothes, many are starting the shop as early as possible to ease the financial burden.
"It can be completely unaffordable," said Sara Sansom, from Bristol.
"Children are very aware if they've got something that doesn't fit quite right, so if you're sending your child off to school in a blazer that's a bit to small then the child is going to suffer."
Sara started a uniform swap shop to support families struggling to cover the cost.
"Two blazers, that's £90, then there's PE t-shirts, rugby shirts, then the right shoes.
"If you have twins starting Year 7, you're probably looking at £500 - that's the cost of a holiday!"
The survey, from MyVoucherCodes, found that 42% of parents now opt for second-hand clothes to lower costs.
A further 38% of parents said they have bought plain clothing and attach the school logo separately.
It comes as the government plans to limit the number of school-branded items children have to wear to three.
They say the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would save parents £50 a year.