Best school uniform ranges revealed: Marks & Spencer is crowned overall top provider

Marks & Spencer has come out on top as the best British store to buy new school uniform from, according to a new survey.

British families crowned the celebrity-loved retailer overall top provider of schooling attire – while placing German supermarket Lidl last, and ranking John Lewis the worst range when it came to being ‘worth the cost’.

MadeForMums, the UK’s number one parenting site for product reviews, asked more than 600 households with children to test out the school uniform options from some of Britain’s most popular stores, including Next, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons.

UK parenting site MadeForMums, has revealed the results (pictured) of their survey asking over 600 households for their opinion on school uniforms 

MadeForMums , the UK’s number one parenting site for product reviews, asked more than 600 households with children to test out the school uniform options from some of Britain’s most popular stores, including Next, Asda , Tesco and Morrisons. Pictured: Library image of children in school uniform

Ten retailers were compared to determine which ones were offering the best ranges, with families putting them through an at-home trial, looking at how well they wash, the fit and quality before ranking the ensembles out of ten for each category.

A further 694 families were surveyed in July 2021 answering over 50 questions about the school uniforms they buy each year. 

The findings reveal the need for durability with families prepared to pay extra for choice, adaptability and robustness. 

Marks & Spencer was crowned the winner, with parents highlighting elements such as adjustable waistbands, longer lengths, slim fit styles and good colour choices. 

Despite the retailer often being more expensive than its supermarket rivals, researchers said an overwhelming number of parents felt it was worth the money due to how well it washed and wore.  

One of the testers said: ‘Would 100 per cent recommend… Now that we’ve tried it, I will be buying the rest of his uniform from there. Can’t fault it.’

Marks & Spencer has come out on top as the best British store to buy new school uniform from (pictured), according to the survey

Matalan (pictured) failed to impress the parents and found itself among Aldi and Lidl in the bottom three shops to buy school uniform 

Next was crowned the second best brand after narrowly being beaten by Marks & Spencer – while Aldi was ranked in the bottom two brands, however participants in the survey acknowledged that it’s worth the cost. 

But it was supermarket Asda that was rated the best in terms of being ‘worth the money’. 

Having scored especially low in the quality category, Lidl was voted as the worst school uniform provider. It’s unclear which uniform items from each store were used in the test.

A quarter of parents estimate they spent more than £100 on uniform (excluding shoes) when their child first started at school. 

Meanwhile, 38 per cent then spent more than £75 on schooling attire every subsequent year to kit out each child.

A strong trend is parents’ frustration with the number of compulsory school-branded items that push up the overall cost.

Susie Boone, Editorial Director of MadeForMums, said: ‘Helping parents make confident choices is what MadeForMums specialises in as the number one parenting review site in the UK, and the hot topic at this time of year is where to get the best school uniform. 

‘Marks & Spencer are the deserving winner with parents commenting it is worth the extra outlay to have a quality uniform that washes well, is a good fit and withstands the daily rough and tumble of school life.’