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Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Dawn Hoskins (27th Aug 2009 - 10:50:37) Plea for Bohunt Blazers. I have discovered today that to qualify for aid with school uniform, you have to be receiving the ‘right kind’ of benefits. A family I know of who will be having two new starters at Bohunt and who are on their uppers have told me that despite living on the bread line, because the bread winner wants to carry on working to maintain dignity (and mental health!) even though this is part time and minimum wage, they do not qualify for the ‘right type’ of benefit and cannot get help with school lunches or uniform costs. If they were prepared to chuck their jobs in entirely and claim full benefits from the state, they would be no better off financially, but would get help with the costs of feeding and clothing the children for school. They are not prepared to do this as they don’t want to be ‘playing the system’ which although is morally the right thing (possibly) leaves them having the choice of either buy food for the week or buy uniform! I looked in at A3 Sports this morning. Bohunt blazers are £35 each. This is not a possibility for a family living on the bread line. I would like to start to take in Bohunt blazers – of any size and condition to offer to honest, hard working families such as this. Most rips and tears can be repaired quite easily so please don’t disregard damaged ones. I know that a lot of people will have out grown last years’ blazer – so please have a look in your cupboard under the stairs / loft / etc and dig out these precious items for those less fortunate than yourselves. I will let you know via this site and Bohunt notice boards how this takes off.

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - A3 Sports (27th Aug 2009 - 11:47:09) Hi Just to clarify the costs of school blazers. For all sizes up to 33" chest £30 34"- 40" chest £35 42" - 48" chest £40 Unfortunately from sizes 34" chest upwards VAT is applicable. Costs are kept as low as possible for all parents Beth

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Chris (27th Aug 2009 - 13:24:14) Hi Dawn, Unfortunately our little darlings see their school blazers as a target of destruction at a very early stage!! After only the first day at school, buttons are cut off, then moving swiftly on to defacing or removing the badges, they progress to using them as a graffiti wall on their day of leaving. Maybe hope could lie with the little careless/absent minded darlings, who have forgotten where they last put their treasured blazers, affording the schools 'lost property' box it's stuffing. Perhaps your friend could benefit from a quick call to the school to see if they have any blazers that have been lliving a long, lonely, life in the lost property cupboard? Worth a try. Good luck with the idea anyway.

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Dawn Hoskins (27th Aug 2009 - 14:42:45) I just wanted to say that I am not critisizing any shops. They cost what they cost and most uniform blazers seem to be a pretty standard price. I will call Bohunt to find out what happens to the lost property - thanks for the idea. All the best, Dawn

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - barbara (27th Aug 2009 - 18:45:37) The wool shop in liss placed an ad last week 25% of Bohunt Blazers and I believe a shop in Wey Hill also stocks them. I understand that if a child wears a second hand blazer, he /she could get bullied for this, is that what happens? Does Bohunt school run a bursary fund of any kind for hardship?

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Sue W (27th Aug 2009 - 20:25:20) Try the local charity shops - all charity shops at this time of year promote school uniform. (if they have any!!) The cost of sending children to school has always been high - and trust me you get what you pay for. Cheap supermarket clothes are great - but rarley do they last long. Good for gentle kids that are not rough and tough - but a quality pair of trousers for boys a must! As a matter of interest one friend purchased their daughters gear over the internet. The prices were no different than A3 sports!! - and they ran out of 2 vital pieces and she had to rush around to find a supplier who had stock - and paid a much higher price!! At my childrens old school the PTA used to do a second hand uniform sale at the end/start of each term. It raises money for the school and helps cash strapped parents too. Does Bohunt do this? Dawn if you have the time to organise it and do the alterations - then go for it. Sounds a good idea Sue

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - irene (28th Aug 2009 - 07:20:03) liss wool shop has 25per cent of bohunt blazers at the moment, also why not look in the charity shops there was one in the charity shop in the forest centre the other day

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Dawn Hoskins (28th Aug 2009 - 10:40:13) Thanks to all for your comments. Yes, my friend has tried all the charity shops – but to no avail. And Yes, the school do provided a uniform fund – but (apparently) this is run by the county and you can only receive it if you are claiming FULL benefits from the state. If you have a job which you don’t want to lose you will not be claiming the ‘correct’ benefits to receive assistance. I have been in contact with Bohunt and received a very positive response. I think it may be a little late to help this year’s intake but in future it is possible that this may be a ‘parent run’ service for those in need. I do take your point about wearing a second hand blazer and whether this could lead to being picked on. Clearly, no one would want to wear one out of choice and I really hope that this won’t occur. Also, I agree about having ‘sturdy’ clothing rather than the cheaper options. With three boys to outfit – believe me I have tried the supermarkets – but have found that it is a false economy – especially with trousers. I don’t plan to take in other items though – just the blazers. On a business note. The blazers A3 are usually cheaper than the other shops and I know that they have not raised their prices for 4 years despite their suppliers raising their prices. Additionally they provide an easy payment scheme for anyone who can’t find the whole sum in one go. I would always advocate supporting local businesses rather than using petrol, paying parking fees or postage fees to get items which would likely have cost less or equal to buying locally. A3 provide a smashing service and it is a genuine advantage to have it on our doorsteps where we can park for free! This thread is not about shops however, or about who has a sale on. It is about people in genuine need of assistance that are not being helped by the state and who are trying to make ends meet. I really hope that this can ‘get off the ground’ and would appreciate all readers to tell friends / family not to throw away any blazers for any reason! I am hoping that Bohunt will take the blazers in initially and then I will collect and repair / clean and store. Bohunt do not have the space to do this. So, please look in your cupboards and tell your friends to do the same.

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Janet A (13th Sep 2009 - 20:47:37) I'm interested to see that Bohunt pupils apparently are still in the habit of removing all the buttons from their blazers. This practice was commonplace when my children were at Bohunt 15+ years ago and I think had been going on for some time even then. I wonder who originated it and whether they're aware of what they started! For some inexplicable reason, having buttons on one's blazer is considered 'uncool' at Bohunt. How odd!

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - jo herridge (14th Sep 2009 - 14:58:20) im wondering why this is supposed to be cool too. on first day back button 1 was ripped off my daughters blazer, by day 2 button 2 was off as well. I rang the school who were not aware of this trend but would have a word with my daughter. In my opinion one new blazer with buttons ripped off is a £35 blazer ruined

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Shona (12th Aug 2012 - 22:35:30) Hello, I know that this is an old post but it came up on a Google search. Did you manage to set up a 2nd hand blazer supply ? We have twins starting in September and buying 2 new sets of school uniforms is really expensive ! Many Thanks, Shona

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - Dawn Hoskins (13th Aug 2012 - 15:40:48) hi there, This never got of the ground as there was a complete lack of interest it would seem. I sympathise as at one point I had three boys in blazers and due to their different sizes I was never able to pass them down. You could try the receptionists at Bohunt and ask for the lost property box. I am not sure what they do with the old stuff.

Re: Plea for Bohunt Blazers. - M.E (18th Aug 2012 - 14:35:28) hello, Just to say that i have a boy blazer looks brand new, if anybody needs a blazer they can have this one.

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