Free school uniforms in Bedford

26 August 2010, 06:00

Pupils who are about to start at the new Bedford Academy are being given free uniforms.

They're being funded by Bedford charity The Harpur Trust and the Department of Education.

Around five hundred of the uniforms - which normally cost more than £100 - are being given out. It's so parents who already paid for the correct clothes for predecessor school John Bunyon don't have to shell out again.

Pupils are being given the outfit today. It consists of a blazer, a shirt or blouse, a tie for the boys, trousers or skirt, a v-neck jumper, a sports top, a PE polo shirt, PE shorts, PE socks, tracksuit bottoms and a school bag.

Every pupil at the school will be expected to wear the clothes, apart from sixth formers who will dress in smart office wear.

Claire Smith - the Academy's Principal - told Heart:

"With it being a new and different uniform, it's something the students have chosen themselves. It really makes them have a sense of belonging to our school and it enables everybody to be viewed equally."

"They wanted their uniform to be something that's smart, that made them feel important and business like in their time at the academy. So we felt that listening to them, it met very closely with our vision for the academy."

In the future pupils will be able to buy their uniform from a shop at the Academy.