New sports kit list

[onewestguncopse]

In Kukri's defence, they have ploughed lots of money into CH in return for this deal. Sponsorship is a price you pay to get the money you need to run good teams, fund tours, coaches and equipment. Like it or not, it is here to stay.

[dinahcat]

Well , many parents clearly don't like it. Regardless of the sponsorship for the teams, which is a good way to sucker a school into an arrangement for kit , the majority of parents want sensibly priced basic kit which looks like their children belong to the school. They also expect it to fit and to talk to some one who understands this trivial matter.The majority of pupils aren't in a school team .

[eagerdad]

We bought all non-Kukri stuff when we visited the school.

Having now seen the Kukri kit, I am very glad we did, and would hope that the school would abandon them as soon as possible. Their clothing appears to have their brand name in a larger font, and more prominently, than the school's crest. It seems that this is normal these days, but not an attitude that I would think is compatable with the ethos of CH.

When we visited the school my DS preferred the Kukri kit, so we purchased that kit . When he starts in September he will still be CH pupil whatever kit he is wearing. Many posters repeat the mantra of ethos of CH but ethos does not pay the bills. CH are trying to find revenues streams in tough economic times. There will always be changes to items like sports kit accept it and move on, let's not scream 'stop the world I want to get off'.

[fbannabel]

To be honest I don't really care where the sports kit comes from - Kukri manufactured the kit at my son's rubgy club in Kent the season before he left to join CH and it was very well made and lasted ages. I know my son will like the Kukri kit as it is more exciting than the existing one and I think it does look very smart - but it is TOTALLY useless if I cannot now purchase any...

I have emailed Kukri to ask them how I go about ordering any in the future and will keep you all posted!

[lonelymom]

My daughter preferred the Kukri kit too, and the quality of the items on show, although not actually the CH kit, was very good. And, to be honest, I couldn't see the logic of buying the kit from Broadbridges (which my eldest daughter has, and which is also very good quality) when it is already 'old stock'. If my daughter had actually preferred the Broadbridges stuff I probably would have opted for that, but I'm glad she went for the Kukri. I agree with eagerdad, if CH are getting some money out of this deal then good luck to them! How can we all complain about the fee increases, then complain when the school try to make money?

[KenHo]

CH are trying to find revenues streams in tough economic times.

There is no extra revenue in this case.

The parents have to buy the kit.
The kit is marked up to pay for the money "given" to CH.

Therefore the parents pay for the things the school gets.

If the school had a kit without some silly company name all across it, then it could cost less and the parents would have a few more quid. If the school was a bit short as a result then they would raise the fees by the same amount. The net result being the parents would pay the same money it the end without the school advertising some company.

I mayu have a slightly old fashioned attitute to these things but I would remind everyone that the country is in "financila meltdown" because bankers stopped being able to so simple sums, whereas everybody else from teachers to hospital managers, starting talking nonesense such as "revenue stream" and "value proposition".

[onewestguncopse]

Kit is nearly all 'branded' these days. Whether it be Nike, Kukri, Umbro, Fred Perry, Umbro, Next, Gap .....

CH just signed up to get kit that is made to a high spec and supplied to all the major Rugby Clubs in the UK and many schools, universities, cricket clubs etc. Our footballs are branded, our cricket balls branded, our tennis rackets are branded - even our minibuses are branded. If the product is good and keenly priced, so what IMHO.

It is naive to think that we should be any different. CH is a business for crying out loud. It is in the education business and that is very expensive. We are also a private school and as with all expenses that are private, be they school, doctors, dentists whatever - they are also available free at the point of sale (or subsidised heavily by the state). If you choose to pay - that is your choice - 93% of children's parents from across the social spectrum do not pay for education.

I do feel genuine sympathy for parents who are struggling to pay the fees but some are a bit naive too. CH is not a branch of the welfare state.

[lonelymom]

I actually LIKE the new kit, logo/brand included. What I objected to in the first instance was the £10 charge to have the kit delivered to me, rather than being given the option of paying for it and bringing it home with me on New Entrants Day. I still think this is an unfair extra expense for parents, but I do prefer the new kit.

[eagerdad]

It is naive to think that we should be any different. CH is a business for crying out loud. It is in the education business and that is very expensive. We are also a private school and as with all expenses that are private, be they school, doctors, dentists whatever - they are also available free at the point of sale (or subsidised heavily by the state). If you choose to pay - that is your choice - 93% of children's parents from across the social spectrum do not pay for education.

I do feel genuine sympathy for parents who are struggling to pay the fees but some are a bit naive too. CH is not a branch of the welfare state.

Exactly
I have paid fees for for almost 12 years it has been struggle and sacrifices have been made, no foreign holidays cars sold, no ipods or namebrand clothing but I repeat Independent Education is a choice and it is run on business lines. My DD school uniform (State Comprehensive South London) was £500 .The sports kit which is branded was £200.

[thriftymatron]

As far as I am aware, Kukri will re-open their on-line shop when CH asks them to do so. Orders are then taken over a set period for delivery 8 weeks later. This is not ideal as often pupils lose something mid-term or suddenly have a growth spurt and need replacement items ASAP. These issues really need to be addressed by the school and Kukri and a suitable arrangement found.

The £10 postage charge is necessary as all parcels will need to be insured if over £39 in value and require a signature on delivery to ensure their safe arrival. Unfortunately Kukri will only deliver in bulk to the school this summer, rather than to individual addresses - hopefully that might change in future. We could not leave it here for collection in September as it all needs to be labelled. Kukri have said that the recent on-line orders will be at CH by 21st August as that is the date orders taken on New Entrants' Day are being collected from me in Peele.

It has been very confusing for everyone this year but hopefully these teething problems will soon be rectified - I'm ever the optimist!

[fbannabel]

Thank you for letting me know that there will be a further opportunity for parents to order the new Kukri sports kit. The information on the school website does not make that clear and I was worried that we had missed the boat. I too am in favour of any help and sponsorship that CH can obtain and I know that the quality of Kukri's kit is usually very good indeed. Once my son is back home for the summer holidays I can at least sort through his sports kit to establish how many items he has lost during his first year and what items need replacing! I hope that CH instigates re-opening the Kukri site for orders during the summer holidays so that parents can at least order the new kit to hopefully arrive sometime during the first half of the Autumn term. Thanks.

[thriftymatron]

Thank you for letting me know that there will be a further opportunity for parents to order the new Kukri sports kit. The information on the school website does not make that clear and I was worried that we had missed the boat. I too am in favour of any help and sponsorship that CH can obtain and I know that the quality of Kukri's kit is usually very good indeed. Once my son is back home for the summer holidays I can at least sort through his sports kit to establish how many items he has lost during his first year and what items need replacing! I hope that CH instigates re-opening the Kukri site for orders during the summer holidays so that parents can at least order the new kit to hopefully arrive sometime during the first half of the Autumn term. Thanks.

I will pass on your thoughts re next opening of shop and see what response I get - watch this space!

[huggermugger]

Thank you for letting me know that there will be a further opportunity for parents to order the new Kukri sports kit. The information on the school website does not make that clear and I was worried that we had missed the boat. I too am in favour of any help and sponsorship that CH can obtain and I know that the quality of Kukri's kit is usually very good indeed. Once my son is back home for the summer holidays I can at least sort through his sports kit to establish how many items he has lost during his first year and what items need replacing! I hope that CH instigates re-opening the Kukri site for orders during the summer holidays so that parents can at least order the new kit to hopefully arrive sometime during the first half of the Autumn term. Thanks.

Totrally agree with this - the arrangements may work for new parents but not very sensible for the existing ones....

[thriftymatron]

Apparently the Kukri On-line Shop should be opening again sometime next week. No sure how long it will remain open but expect a delivery date of 8 weeks from then.

[fbannabel]

Thank you and have a lovely summer break!