Back to school with John Lewis

A new school or new term can be exciting, but also a little daunting, for both parents and children, not least because of the potential for back to school shopping headaches! Easy for us to say, but don’t leave buying school uniform to the last minute. The summer holidays usually fly past and before you know it, the annual rush to kit your child out for the return to school has begun. Preparation is key, so kit them out in plenty of time, and you can sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the summer holidays.

Not wanting to sound like a broken record, but Back to School is our busiest time so we would urge you to buy early to avoid disappointment. Ideally try and shop before the end of July or in early August. I know parents fear summer holiday growth spurts, but when you shop in our schoolwear department at John Lewis Peterborough our Partners can advise on buying to allow for this. We can provide sample sizes for children to try.

To make things easier, we stock more school uniform than ever before, so you can get everything in one shop. You’ll find the entire range of general school uniforms and sportswear , together with shoes, bags and stationery .

Try and buy all your uniform together, this idea might seem like a big task, as it’s an expensive business and it’s often the last thing your children want to do, but it means you can try everything on together to make sure jackets and coats fit over the rest of the uniform, and trousers sit well with shoes.

Things are easily left on the bus, lost on playing fields, or mistakenly taken from coat pegs. Cash’s name tapes offer a choice of fonts and finishes, and can be discreetly sewn into clothing, bags and pencil cases. Use them in school shoes too!

And don’t forget, unlike some competitors, we stock school uniform all year round. If you do have an emergency and need your uniform quickly, why not try our ‘click and collect’ service? Place your order online before 7pm, and you’ll be able to collect it free of charge from any of our shops after 2pm the following day - emergency over!