'£10,000 cost' of state education

School dinners are estimated at £324 per year

The cost of keeping a child at school costs almost £10,000 to parents, says a survey.

It suggests families in the UK spend a total of £7.7bn a year on education expenses such as school uniform, lunches and sports kit.

The Norwich Union School Sums survey published on Friday says a child's state school education from the age of five to 16 will cost parents a total of £9,515.

This is made up of 22 school trips, 44 shirts or blouses, 33 pairs of trousers or skirts, 22 jumpers and 22 pairs of shoes.

Average cost per child per year

School lunches for 36 weeks £324

Clothes/shoes £178

Transport for 36 weeks £108

Books £31

School trips £84

Sports kit £57

After-school clubs £45

Extras £38

Over the 11 years, Britain as a whole would therefore spend £84bn on youngsters' school requirements, the report suggests.

Norwich Union's Ian Beggs said: "Many parents think of state schools as being free but the costs are significant.

"Nearly £8bn of our money gets spent every year just covering the everyday costs of sending our children to school - that's nearly £900 per child.

"It's important to allow for these costs when managing your finances.

"If parents do their school sums now they'll know what they need to put aside."

Spending by city - per child per year

London £1,058

Birmingham £919

Cardiff £852

Glasgow £843

Manchester £827

The survey was conducted by market researchers Brand And Issues, who interviewed 500 parents in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Parents were asked the average cost of each of a selection of school-related items and the number of times they bought them each year.

Secondary schoolchildren were found to cost £60 per child per year more, largely due to higher uniform and school trip prices.

Last month, a report by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) said many children from low income families were being excluded from school because they did not have the correct uniform.

This was largely down to the steady erosion of grants to help poorer parents afford the required school clothes for their children, it added.