Bag 15% off school uniforms & you might even get free embroidery

School uniforms ain’t cheap, so I’ve blagged 5,000 codes to get 15% off all Tesco schoolwear to be used by Sunday 24 August. And Tesco offers a free embroidery service too…

Thanks to my mum, after five years of secondary school, it became pretty clear to me that uniforms are “bloody expensive”.

We’d go to a small shop next to the school where my mother would hand over more than £100 per year to kit me out with a uniform. We couldn’t get it any cheaper, as that was the only option.

Flash forward a couple (ahem) of years and not much has changed. Lots of my friends who are parents struggle with the hefty cost.

So to ease the pain of spending money on school uniforms, I’ve managed to blag MSE users 5,000 exclusive codes which will get you 15% off all schoolwear at Tesco’s clothing website F&F*.

You’ll need to use the code by Sunday 24 August and it’s only redeemable once. You can’t use the code on any other offers, but it does work on schoolwear sale items if you fancy boosting the discount. Just fill in your details below to get your exclusive code. You can only get one code per person.

On top of that, Tesco also offers a free school uniform embroidery service*. It’s going to be tight if you want to use it for the start of the new school year – orders can take up to 20 days (including weekends) to be delivered. But it’s great if you need to top up your child’s schoolwear, as there’s no minimum spend and delivery is free. You pick your school from your local education authority on the F&F site, then press ‘shop now’. You will see all the school uniform for that school. You put what you want in your basket and checkout

If you just ordering non-standard non-embroidered school uniform items you can get them with free click and collect, standard delivery (£3.95) or next-day delivery (£5).

So how does Tesco’s price compare?

Apart from Aldi, where uniforms sell out as quick as a flash, Tesco has one of the cheapest uniforms on the market – especially if you apply the 15% code. At the moment, Sainsbury’s offers 25% off school uniforms  in-store only, but, as the Sainsbury’s school clothing range tends to be more expensive, Tesco is still likely to be cheaper overall.

• 6 x Polo shirts – £10.50 at Sainsbury’s, £6.36 at Tesco
• 2 x Sweatshirts – £6 at Sainsbury’s, £5.10 at Tesco
• 1 x trousers – £3.75 at Sainsbury’s, £1.48 at Tesco
• 2 x shorts – £4.50 at Sainsbury’s, £2.55 at Tesco
• 1 xSkirt – £2.55 at Tesco, £1.88 at Sainsbury’s

So what about the embroidered service?

All the Tesco prices mentioned above are for non-embroidered schoolwear –  embroidered uniforms can be slightly more expensive. Tesco has told me this is because the quality is sometimes better because schools insist on it (although I haven’t compared them myself).

Of course, school uniform prices will differ all over the UK, so do your own comparisons and don’t assume Tesco is the cheapest.

Being a Swansea gal, I had a look at the school options in Swansea. The school I went to wasn’t there, so I picked nearby Cadle Primary School.

I compared Tesco’s prices with those at the school shop. Here’s what I found…

• Embroidered sweatshirt – £8.50 at school shop, from £6.50 at Tesco (depending on age) – £5.52 with 15% off code
• Embroidered polo shirt – £7 at school shop, from £3.75 at Tesco – £3.18 with 15% off code
• Embroidered reversible jacket – £14 at school shop, from £14 at Tesco – £11.90 with 15% off code
• Embroidered school cardigan – £10 at school shop, from £7 at Tesco – £5.95 with 15% off code
• Embroidered school book bag – £4 at school shop, £6 at Tesco – £5.10 with 15% off code

Because the price varies by age at Tesco but there’s just one price at the school shop, the younger your child the bigger your potential saving.

A good perk is there is no minimum amount to order at Tesco, which is often the case with the smaller companies – so it’s easier to top up on items.

Oh, and you get Clubcard points, which is always a plus.

Is my school OK with Tesco’s embroidery service?

You need to check whether your child’s school is listed on the Tesco website. If it’s on there, it’ll be approved by the school and will have its emblem.

Sizes go up to an XXXL, so there’s plenty of sizes to choose from. And your school gets 5% of sales.

If your kid’s school is not on the list, you can nominate it to be registered.