Parents rush to Matalan as chain slashes prices of school...

PARENTS are rushing to Matalan to stock up on school uniforms, after the shop reduces prices to just £2. If you have a child who is having a growth spurt, it could be perfect for getting some extra polo shirts or trousers. One bargain hunter uploaded photos of their local store in Northwich which had numerous racks of uniforms labelled with a clearance sign.

Image Credit: The Sun [Rack of children's white school shirts on sale for £2 or less.]

They shared their findings to the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, where people have been quick to say they also want to stock up. Meanwhile, another person in Bristol showed how they have snapped up polo shirts and long sleeve shirts in the sale.

Image Credit: The Sun [Three packages of school uniforms: yellow polo shirts, short-sleeve shirts, and long-sleeve shirts.]

She wrote: “School uniform multipacks reduced to £2 per pack, they had plenty of white shirts and different colour polo tops.”. A third shopper wrote: “Perfect chance to stock up for next year or grab some bigger sizes if needed.”. And one parent replied to the deal saying: “That's cheap!”.

Image Credit: The Sun [Matalan store with school uniforms on sale for £2 and under.]

This comes as more than four in ten parents struggle to kit out their kids, with the average cost per child a wallet-busting £145 a year. A survey by cleaning firm Dr Beckmann found 44 per cent of mums and dads dread the eye-watering bill, which works out at £1,740 over 12 years of education.

Image Credit: The Sun [A masked man stands outside a Matalan store on Oxford Street.]

Almost half of all parents (45 per cent) will buy second-hand threads. We recently shared how parents were racing to a major supermarket after discovering that school uniforms are scanning for just 4p. A savvy shopper shared the bargain find on Facebook after being left stunned by the drastic reduction at Tesco.

Posting on the Bargain Lovers group, they said: "I went into our Tesco last night and had to buy some new trousers for my son and when I got to till these trousers scanned at 4p says clearance. "I went back this morning to see if there were any other sizes for future (I used the scanner to check) I manged to get next size up scanning at 4p as well.

"The only ones that are going through at 4p are the ones with the sticker on the that says (€11.50 / £9) if they don’t have the sticker they were just scanning as normal price.". IF you are struggling to afford the cost of school uniform or PE kit, you may be able to apply for a grant from your local council - but the criteria vary from council to council.

This is usually in the form of a one-off payment paid directly into your bank account. Some councils will reimburse payments made to approved retailers. You can ask your local council what help is available and when you need to apply. If you can't get targeted help from your council, there are other options to get cheap uniform.

Speak to your school to see if they can offer you some clothing. Some charities offer help to families in need too. Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you. Charity shops can also be a good place to find cheap school uniform.

The shopper revealed she had bagged the bargain at the Inverness store - but it appears that's not the only store to have slashed its uniform prices. Other shoppers across the country shared their own 4p uniform finds at different locations. One mum said: "I just got boys and girls both scanning through at 4p each. Thank you for the heads up!".