UK School Uniform - Size Matters (What Constitutes an 'Average' Childs Size)

School uniform manufacturers have until recently only supplied a range of averaged school uniform for nursery, primary and secondary schools. What size is an average child? How many times have you been into a high street store looking for boys and/or girls school uniform and the sizing is not equivalent to the age. In my experience this can vary dramatically. An average 5 year old could fit into anything from a 3 year old to an 8 year old depending on where you shop. The majority of high street outlets cover themselves by adopting dual age ticketing – 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13 and then adult sizes ranging from XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL. As a leading school uniform supplier we use a traditional approach by using tailored sizes. For example for sweatshirts, sweatshirt cardigans, knitted jumpers and cardigans, polo shirts and fleeces we primarily use chest measurements in inches and then we use the age guide. The same applies to boys and girls blazers – as the fitting is more critical the school blazers are sizes in 1” increments – to find the equivalent age all you have to do is subtract 22 – for example a 33” blazer in age is approximately a 11 year old. Trousers for boys and girls have waist measurements and overall inside/outside leg measurements. This is particularly useful for short / long leg length. Shirts and Blouses are measured either by collar size for boys or chest size for girls. Boys school shirts are in half inch increments and girls school blouses are in divisions of 2”.
Boys and Girls school uniform has always been a problem if they are a small size or a large size. You may be able to go up or down a couple of sizes but the garment never seems to hang right and it needs to be hacked and altered extensively. Thankfully traditional school uniform supplier such as localschooluniform.co.uk still use tailored sizing for petite and bigger children. This means that your child will look good without having to alter the uniform. Small waist trousers have less material around the top of the leg so they do not look baggy and are typically half elasticated so they flex to the waist size without pinching. For older children there is the option of a static waist as well as elasticated. There is a greater choice for boys at the moment as manufacturers cater for slim fit, fully elasticated, half elasticated, shorter leg, longer leg, sturdy fit / comfort fit. The good news is that manufacturers now also realise that girls need the same fittings – these will become more available as consumers demand customised fitting for their children.
Sizing can be a bug-bear for parents and children when ages are used. A small 10 year old will feel very conscious when they only fit into a 7/8 school uniform – much better to have a tailored approach where he/she fits into 28” sweatshirt, 11” collar, 28” Trouser. The same is true for larger outsize children.
It would be great if all manufactures and retailers adopted the above principles.

Disclaimer
The above information is a personal opinion and is intended for reference only

Local School Uniform for Boys and Girls Home Page
Local School Blazers for Boys and Girls Home Page

School Uniform for Boys and Girls in Nursery, {Primary and Secondary Schools