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Hammond MDS Uniform


sarahw

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Stardust are expensive so therefore your funding gets used up much more quickly.  I don't like the idea of pointe shoe fittings in lunchtime and also considering other people will also want to purchase items.  Does any onion know if they can actually stipulate it?  The funding is from the Government isn't it? 

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Hi all. The lady who owns Stardust is a friend of mine. This is a decision by the school to handle it this way (presumably the admin of refunding receipts from other shops was too problematic for them) and she wasn't involved in the decision at all. I guess any discussion/concerns need to be taken up with the school.

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Yes I am not happy. For most things

I do use stardust but they don't stock my DDs type of shoe. So not sure what I will do about that? And also some things are very expensive, while other things are ok. I saved money by shopping in the sale/shopping round. Also DD has funny feet and I like to have a certain fitter for her and keep an eye on her while I am there. I live so far away that would not be possible.

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Yes she is very good and really helpful and nice but she can't get the shoes we need. She told me herself to buy them somewhere else and send in my receipts to school. And yes it is great to have the mds money towards ballet things but some of the families near the bottom of the scale need that money to go as far as possible.

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Becky at Stardust is so helpful and kind and will always go the extra mile. Discounts are offered for school students and I find prices to be reasonable. However, I'm quite perplexed that school feel entitled to make.this decision without any explanation of the reasons behind it. It's bound to affect some people, particularly relating to pointe shoes as mentioned above. I wonder if they are allowed to decree this under the rules of the scheme? Worth challenging perhaps?

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I will be emailing the school tomorrow, I have spoken to Becky at Stardust and the accounts team this afternoon - my main concern is pointe shoes, shoes come in different

Makes,models, widths etc and I wouldn't certainly don't expect Becky to stock all of them.

 

I have no problems with Becky she provides a fantastic service always very helpful.

 

peanut68 I do take offence to your comment!!! :( It it still a lot of money for families to find each term for their child to attend a vocational school even with an MDS every little helps.

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I echo everything said about Becky , she is very helpful. DD has never had a pointe shoe fitting with her but she comes highly recommended by my friends who have used her.

I would imagine it is hard work keeping on top of everyone's accounts and they maybe have done this to streamline things, especially if like myself you are sending in receipts and then your child is picking things up from the shop . I have had to ring up a few times to see where I'm up to with the balance .

Unless your dds go through pointe shoes very quickly , you would be hard pressed to spend £650 a year even if you bought everything from Stardust.

If you do find you have a credit near the end of the year you can always stock up for the year ahead .

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An interesting question. What would happen if a student had custom made shoes by Freed or Bob Martin at Bloch? Couldn't you then buy everything else at the specified supplier and then either send the receipts in for pointe shoes or - dare I say it - pay for just pointe shoes yourself in order to get the right shoes for your dd?

 

I mean no offence by suggesting the above, by the way. Just wondering if you could challenge the school on the issue of pointe shoes given that there are SO many variations and some students do only suit custom shoes.

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I have no knowledge about Becky so this is not a comment on her service but when you have spent a long time finding a fitter who works for you on difficult feet it is a big concern - especially if you cannot 'drop in' to school on a Monday morning to be present for the fitting!!

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My DD has had a range of different bags although I did prefer the rucksack type for academic work ..... dance bags are generally OK as long as they don't have wheels on hope that helps ... Edited to add no not all bags are black ... DD has had different colours and nothing has ever been said ...

Edited by Beautifulballerina
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Dd used a bog standard Nike backpack from sports direct as her school bag. She changed to a slightly larger slazenger one as the Nike one didn't hold A4 folders very well

 

For her dance bag in the first year her ex dance teacher gave her a huge black bloch zip updance bags its separate show sections etc. However it was too big & unwieldy so now she has a smaller capezio one. Both are available from dance direct.

 

As a day student sometimes she has more to carry than the boarders eg she takes a laptop sometimes to do homework on the long journey home.

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A place that may be worth looking for nice backpacks is TX Maxx - my niece got a fabulous one there a while ago for around £10.  It was a well-known (if you are young and trendy) make and was retailing for around £50 elsewhere.  Unfortunately when I went they had none left.

 

As ever with this type of shop you have to be in the right place at the right time.

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Never thought to look there - great tip, thank you!

DD carried back breaking loads in cheap flimsy backpack which was in such a ripped & broken zipped state after 2 terms. I have now convinced her to keep a box of academic books etc under her bed & nightly refer to her timetable to unload & reload to take just those needed each day. By doing this she has now persuaded me to get her what to me is really a large handbag from Accessorize/Monsoon.....in the sale I must add! It is far from the dark colour backpack detailed on the uniform list but she insisted that this is more in line with what everyone has (apparently the odd Louis Vuitton may even be used for school books - gulp!!) It pained me to go against the official kit list but DD very happy to feel she 'fits in' with current trends & I did make sure it was roomy enough for A4 clip files to slide in!

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Never thought to look there - great tip, thank you!

DD carried back breaking loads in cheap flimsy backpack which was in such a ripped & broken zipped state after 2 terms. I have now convinced her to keep a box of academic books etc under her bed & nightly refer to her timetable to unload & reload to take just those needed each day. By doing this she has now persuaded me to get her what to me is really a large handbag from Accessorize/Monsoon.....in the sale I must add! It is far from the dark colour backpack detailed on the uniform list but she insisted that this is more in line with what everyone has (apparently the odd Louis Vuitton may even be used for school books - gulp!!) It pained me to go against the official kit list but DD very happy to feel she 'fits in' with current trends & I did make sure it was roomy enough for A4 clip files to slide in!

Large handbag type bags are popular; Dd has a black 'Michael Kors' tote type, but it is a genuine copy from the market in Turkey! It has lasted a school year and I suspect will be replaced with similar version this summer.

Edited by Karen
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If you have to take a laptop into school and want a backpack, amazon have some really good ones in lots of colours (including black) with a built in slot for a laptop. I use it for other things but it would make a good school bag and mine was less than £20 too.

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