A secondary school in Surrey has secured its own uniform supplier so it can sell items at cost to pupils.

The Winston Churchill School in Woking opened its own uniform shop to cut back to costs for families, where parents can order items on site or online, with clothing including skirts, ties and PE kit available at no markup from what it cost the school.

Head teacher Zoe Johnson-Walker said that the approach had cut £20 off the cost of school blazers compared to the previous school year.

“We’ve been trying to reduce the cost of our uniform over a couple of years,” she told the BBC.

The school redesigned its uniform for 2026-27, coinciding with new government rules limiting secondary schools to three branded items, plus a branded tie.

According to the Department for Education, the new rules would save parents up to £50.

“Parents have told us they want fewer costly branded items – and that’s exactly what we’re delivering,” a spokesperson said.

“School uniform matters, but it shouldn’t break the bank.”

Johnson-Walker said That the school had proposed removing its branded blazers from its uniform as it was “one of our most expensive items” but had found “quite a large demand from parents to sell it with the badge on”.

“We’ve managed to do a negotiation with our supplier which means that there’s no additional cost to parents to have a badged item,” she said.

She added that the school had scrapped branded PE tops but was selling plain, black PE shirts in its uniform shop after requests from parents.

“We’re also trying to maintain standards because uniform, as far as we’re concerned, is quite levelling,” Johnson-Walker added.

St John’s Foundation is more than 850 years old and supports older adults in financial need

Bath’s oldest charity has appointed a new chief executive as it prepares to expand its work across the city. Laura Alexander has taken the helm of St John’s Foundation just 19 months after her predecessor, Catharine Brown, took up the job.

St John’s is more than 850 years old and works with housing and outreach services to help older adults in financial need to live independently for longer. It also runs a grants programme aimed at supporting individuals and families who have reached financial crisis across Bath and North East Somerset.

Ms Alexander joined the charity in 2023 to lead its commercial arm – St John’s Hospital Trading Company. She was later appointed director of operations, spearheading a more strategic approach to the charity’s extensive property portfolio.

Her appointment comes as St Joh’n’s prepares to create new almshouses in the centre of Bath and invest in existing homes in a bid to provide more safe, secure and affordable accommodation to older people.

“Over [the last] three years, I have had the opportunity to work with some truly brilliant teams and to see first-hand the very real, human impact their work has on our residents and the wider community,” said Ms Alexander.

“We’re at an important point for St John’s. With an ageing population and increasing pressure on affordable housing, the need for what we do is growing.”

She added: “For me, the opportunity now is to build on that incredible heritage while being forward-thinking and ambitious about the role St John’s can play in the future. It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly, and I’m incredibly excited about what we can achieve together.”

The board of trustees said Ms Alexander’s promotion to chief executive comes at “an important point in the charity’s development”.

“Over the last three years, we have seen first-hand the enormous contribution Laura has made to both St John’s Foundation and our trading company,” the board said in a statement.

“Laura brings a clear vision for where St John’s needs to go next while understanding and respecting what makes the organisation so special. We are delighted to appoint her to lead St John’s into its next chapter.”

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A new law coming into force this school term means parents in England should have to buy fewer branded items of uniform, which the government has said will save them money.

This term uniforms will be limited to three items with a school logo, like a blazer, jumper or sportswear – plus a tie for secondary schools.

The government said some families would save up to £50 per child, but school wear suppliers have argued it could mean parents actually spend more in the long run.

We have spoken to a Fareham mum, a second-hand uniform bank and a Hampshire headteacher about the changes.

Mum-of-three Kay Devonshire-Murphy, from Fareham, said she stockpiled uniforms across the year from charity shops and second hand sales.

She said having to buy three branded items was still too many.

“A PE top cost me £18 the other day and I had to buy three, that’s massively expensive for a PE top,” she said.

“Only three items is fine, but they’re still really expensive in the places they’re being sold.

“This year I had to buy a new blazer for my son, that was £30, a new tie.

“Overall I spent £75 just for the branded stuff per child. That’s a lot of money if you’ve got more than one child.”