€300 for a school uniform enough to make parents cry
A Church school uniform costs almost €300 while government schools' uniforms in the secondary school fetch up to €208
School uniforms can cost up to a maximum of €296.50 in a church school, according to a parliamentary question reply by education minister Evarist Bartolo.
The disconcerting figure was the maximum price quoted to the ministry by one of the schools falling under the education secretariat of the Catholic archdiocese, whose teachers' salaries are paid directly by the state.
The lowest price quoted for a uniform was of €85, while prices appear to have remained relatively stable over the past five years with no major changes to uniform style.
On the other hand, the highest price for a uniform in the government school network was that for secondary school girls and boys from the St Therese College: €208.85 and €195.10. Boys from the St Nicholas College network spent up to €199.70 for their secondary school uniform.
It's an impressive regalia too: a full summer and winter secondary school uniform would consist of polo shirt, trousers or skirt, a cap, P.E. shorts and T-shirt, jersey, tie or cross-tie, a tracksuit, blazer and even a school anorak.
The highest price for a primary school uniform was again from the St Therese College, at €153.85 for girls' uniforms, and €150.75 for boys and girls from the Gozo College network.