• This claim is a misreading of recent research on back-to-school costs.
  • According to the findings of a recent survey carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions, the average TOTAL back-to-school cost for parents of secondary school children is £1,094. The equivalent figure for primary school children is £947.
  • The same research found that the average cost of a post-primary uniform is £188, while a primary school uniform is £131 – with, on average, an extra £107 and £63 respectively spent on gym gear and sports equipment.
  • This mistake appeared in an article in the Irish News and, in a great example of how to respond to an information error, has already been corrected. Everyone makes mistakes – how we respond to those mistakes is important.

In an article in the Irish News published on 6 October, academic Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick and researcher Siobhán Harding wrote:

“Parents with secondary school children currently receive just over £90, despite recent research from the Irish League of Credit Unions showing that the average cost of a secondary school uniform is £1,094.”

This is not supported by evidence.

In fact, this is a straightforward misreading of the findings from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU).

Instead, £1,094 is the average total back-to-school cost for parents of primary school children, based on survey work carried out on behalf of ILCU. The same research found that average uniform costs for parents of secondary school children was £188, with an extra £107 on average spent on sports gear and equipment.

Importantly, this mistake was acknowledged as soon as FactCheckNI asked about the figure and has already been corrected on the Irish News website.

This is an example of a positive response to an information error. The equivalent paragraph in the text now reads:

“Parents with secondary school children currently receive just over £90, despite research showing all back to school costs averaging more than £1,000.”

This assertion is backed up by ILCU research and the correction does not affect the overall thesis of the article. Read on for more details.

  • Source

FactCheckNI contacted Dr Fitzpatrick about this claim late last week. She pointed us to the following press release from ILCU, dating from 16 July this year, which states:

“The findings reveal that more than two-thirds (68%) of parents see back-to-school expenses as a major financial challenge, with average spending reaching £947 for primary school parents and £1,094 for secondary school parents.”

Dr Fitzpatrick acknowledged that the average cost of £1,094 in fact relates to total costs facing parents, rather than just uniforms. Later in the week she emailed us once more to say that her original article had been amended to properly reflect the ILCU research.

This is a fine example of how to respond well to an error. Everyone makes mistakes. It is a good idea to react positively.

  • Findings

ILCU states that its findings are based on survey work carried out in June this year. A total of 544 parents participated in the study.

The figure of £1,094 concerns the total back-to-school costs faced by parents of post-primary children. The equivalent figure for primary school children was £947.

The press release produced by ILCU does not provide full details on all its research (it is, after all, a press release rather than a full report).

FactCheckNI was provided with some further information by the organisation, although this is not online so we are unable to link to it. That information makes clear that total back to school costs include money spent on uniforms, books, transport, after-school care, fees and/or voluntary contributions, gym gear and/or sports equipment, school trips, lunches and extracurricular activities.

School uniforms cost an average of £131 for primary and £188 for secondary school students. It is worth noting that gym gear/sports equipment is a separate criteria within the research and parents’ responses indicate these costs, on average, an additional £107 for parents of secondary school children and £63 for parents of primary school children.

Other findings from the ILCU research include:

  • 73% of schools request voluntary contributions averaging £123 per child.
  • After-school care (£133) and school lunches (£133) represent the largest expenses for primary school pupils.
  • 39% of parents sacrifice family holidays, and 12% cut back on food spending to meet back-to-school expenses.
  • 35% of parents are forced to deny children essential school items such as shoes (40%) and school trips (34%).
  • More than half (51%) feel schools are not doing enough to manage cost

The ILCU also said that “36% of parents are forced into debt to meet these costs, with nearly one in five (19%) incurring debts exceeding £500.”

  • Previous results

This is not the first year that ILCU has carried out research on this topic. Broadly speaking, total costs appear to be rising.
The organisation’s 2024 research found that average total back-to-school costs were £918 for primary school parents and £1,086 for secondary parents. In 2023, those figures were £837 and £989 while in 2022 they were £756 and £826.