Children of expatriates who move back home are leaving their clothes behind for younger classmates to grow into, helping parents keep school costs down.
An informal uniform exchange to swap children's clothes and shoes was recently set up by Jessica March, a mother of three, who arrived in the UAE nine years ago and lives in Sharjah.
Her husband, Tim, said their son Freddie had inherited a pair of shorts and shoes from an older boy.
"There is a high turnover of people here in the UAE, so when people leave they also leave a lot of clothes," Mr March said. "This year, two families have left things for Freddie to grow into and we will also be passing on some of his stuff.
"When they are young they grow so quickly they do not wear out their uniforms, so it is a waste to throw things away. Of course, it cuts costs, too, which is great because things just keep getting more expensive."
Caroline Jenns, a mother of two in Dubai, said that apart from the fees, the biggest costs of sending her children to the English College Primary School were the uniforms.
With children aged six and eight, her costs are already mounting at the start of each school year.
"After their typical growth spurt in the summer, we always need to buy new shoes and trainers and often have to buy new uniforms, too," she said.
This year, to get them through the school week, Mrs Jenns had to buy four blouses and three dresses for her daughter and four polo shirts and three pairs of shorts for her son.
She must also provide each child with one pair of school shoes and one pair of trainers, school hat, a new PE kit and five pairs of socks.
Over the past five years, Mrs Jenns has noticed several price increases. The school uniform, which comes from Magrudy's, increased last year by around Dh5 to Dh10 per piece, she said.
"They have a monopoly so there's no other shop we can buy from. Shorts and dresses went up from around Dh40 to Dh45."
At many schools even PE kits must be emblazoned with the school logo, again pushing the cost up. At the GEMS American Academy in Abu Dhabi, the starting price for a polo shirt is Dh60 whereas in retail outlets such as Adams, parents can find a pack of three similar shirts for Dh50.
Most schools also require a pupil to have PE and library bags with the school emblem. At Al Raha International School in Abu Dhabi, these two items alone cost Dh70 and a pair of PE shorts bearing the logo will cost Dh65 compared with Dh24 in Adams.
Leather school shoes from Zaks, the nationwide supplier for international schools, start at Dh250, but in Adams, Hush Puppies and Pumpkin Patch they are under Dh150.
Mrs March said hot weather in the UAE eliminated the need for winter wear, but the "monopoly" of suppliers such as Zaks and Magrudy's offset any savings from not having to buy blazers or coats.
Other parents complained that uniforms and other school gear were made from inferior materials that often did not last through the school year.
One father in Dubai, who asked not to be named, said his two children needed new uniforms every year because the quality of the materials was so poor, they did not last longer than a year at a time.
"The costs keep getting more expensive and the quality just gets poorer," he said.
He, too, complained of the "monopoly" that he said forced him to spend hundreds of dirhams to kit out his children each year. "We are seriously considering going to Al Satwa and getting the clothes made there with proper material, like cotton. All these uniforms are made from cheap polyester."
He went on to say that after a few washes the clothes lost their colour and shape, while the mandatory school rucksacks broke and could not hold the weight of the books.
Also, he said, some schools tended to change the uniforms during the year, forcing the parents to fork out more money for the newer versions.
Some suppliers in Dubai admit that the quality of uniforms has gone down.
Sholah Mahdavi, the managing director of Stitches, a company that supplies uniforms to approximately 15 Dubai schools, said: "There are some schools out there that don't care about the quality and go to their suppliers for the lowest quality material but charge the parents the highest price."
At Globe Uniform Suppliers in Dubai, the head designer, Ashwini Navnbeth, said "prices do shift depending on the quality of fabric used".
The company provides uniforms for a large number of GEMS schools and Westminster School.
mswan@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Nour Samaha
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
SPECS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
Sweet%20Tooth
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How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
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