Wacky Warehouse, the UK’s leading soft play, party venue and activity centre, has relaunched its school uniform donation scheme for a second successive year due to national demand.

Parents and guardians are invited to visit their local Wacky Warehouse to donate any unused or pre-loved school uniform over the summer months ahead of the new school year.

The charitable initiative follows new research revealing 45% of parents and guardians will struggle to pay for their child’s new uniform this year, up from four in ten parents (40%) in 2023.

What’s more, two thirds of caregivers (66%) say school uniform is the costliest expense around the back to school season, with an average spend on uniform of £161 per child.

According to the study, this is compounded by parents replacing an average of seven items of clothing a year, with shoes (28%), trousers (16%), and shirts (15%) cited as the costliest expenses.

As part of Wacky Warehouse’s scheme, items including blazers, shirts, trousers, skirts, and lots more, will be collected through and donated to local partner charities or schools nominated by each site.

To represent the size of the issue, and significant struggles of parents and guardians across the UK, the brand has created a giant mural of a child in school uniform, made from hundreds of kid’s uniform pieces that will form the first donation at Wacky Warehouse’s ‘Donation Stations’ across the nation.

The 15-foot mural is featured alongside Daniel Arsham’s artwork Bronze Eroded Bunny at the iconic Yorkshire Sculpture Park, made from uniform items of various sizes, which will all be donated as a means of kickstarting the national drive heading into the summer holidays.

To donate, simply take your pre-loved school uniform to your nearest Wacky Warehouse across 65 sites and drop it in the designated donation station between 3rd June and 2nd September.

The research into school uniform further revealed the number of parents who would like there to be a cheaper way to get hold of clothing, with almost eight in ten (78%) seeking this.

Similarly, parental guardians are showing an increasing openness to using pre-loved uniform, with more than half (54%) saying they would be happy to buy second hand, compared to 46% in 2023.

When it comes to repurposing uniform, the data shows the average parent throws four items of school uniform away a year, rather than donating them to charity or a child in need.

According to the study, this could be down to a lack of education and resources, with more than three in five guardians (61%) saying they would like to donate their child’s old uniform but don’t know how to.

As part of the initiative, Wacky Warehouse has partnered with B&M to launch a competition, giving families who donate their unused uniforms the chance to win some fantastic prizes for their children’s school.

B&M will offer a £1,000 gift voucher for the winning school, alongside a £250 gift voucher for second place and a £100 gift voucher for third place to spend on school essentials, such as breakfast foods, stationery, and sporting equipment.

To enter, simply visit the Wacky Warehouse website or scan the QR code at any donation station and click the link. This competition will be running for the duration of donation window.

Sam Simpson, Marketing Manager at Wacky Warehouse, added: “We’re at the heart of dozens of communities nationwide and take huge pride in supporting our customers.

“We also know how difficult it can be to afford school uniform and the back to school season, especially in the current economic climate amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“That’s why we’re delighted to relaunch our school uniform donation scheme for the second year running, following its huge success in 2023, when we saw 69 pubs collect thousands of items of uniform for those in need.

“To donate, simply head to your local Wacky Warehouse and drop your unused or pre-loved uniforms at the designated donation stations and we’ll take care of the rest!”