Tesco have taken 25% off all school uniform; now might be a good time to assess your school uniform stock levels, especially as I think it only runs for TODAY.

• Click HERE to go over to Tesco

When my children first crossed the classroom threshold, they did so with the regulation bits of school uniform, numerous pairs of socks, vests in the drawer waiting for those chilly days etc.

By the time the first half term came around it had become glaringly obvious where the school uniform holes were, both, metaphorically and literally in the case of the knees of my son's school trousers!

Once in school, our darling little ones have a terrible habit of seeming to grow even faster - it must be a competitive thing with their classmates - because, again, by the time the first half term rocked up they'd grown out of various things that we're SURE fitted okay at the beginning of the school year just seven weeks before.

If all of this is starting to sound familiar then pop over to Tesco and take advantage of their 25% off all school uniform discount and save yourself some money.

If you can't face school uniform shopping in person again, so soon after already having done it once, then you can order online and just collect it all in-store the next time you're there.

Please be aware - there's nothing anywhere to suggest that this discount is running but, trust me, it is.  I threw a couple of pairs of trousers into my virtual basket, and the discount was applied at the checkout (it's right at the bottom of the screen, listed as: Deal of the Day - 25% off school uniform).

Thanks to brummie02 at HUKD

Don't waste a second of your holidays shopping for those necessary back to school items like uniform. Do it online instead, and guilt free if you use this Asda George promotional code to get free delivery on uniforms when you spend £20.

Click here to use your Asda George promotional code

• Discount: free delivery
• Applies to: uniform
• Promotional code: SCHOOL2
• Expires: 2nd September 2011

To use the code, go to the Basket and enter it in the Promotional Code box. Delivery is confirmed when you go through checkout.

I thought it would be quite hard to test this one out actually, as the prices are so reasonable and I only have the one school age child. But having learnt my lesson starting last year with two pairs of trousers I know that at least four pairs are really required. Especially if the weather makes drying outdoors impossible. The house looks permanently like a laundry otherwise.

I picked up four pairs of his favourite style of trouser - the cargo pants. These were £5 each, which isn't a bad price.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD!

Save on having to make a trip to the shops with this M&S voucher code. It will give you free delivery on school uniforms.

Click here to get your M&S voucher code for free delivery of schoolwear

• Discount: Free Delivery
• Minimum Spend: £0.00
• Applies To: School Uniforms
• Voucher Code: SCHOOL10
• Expires: 14th September 2010

If you're a well organised parent you'll already have all your school wear sorted, ready for September. No doubt you bought it all in the 3 for 2 sales in June and July. If you're like the rest of us however, you're probably still scrabbling about for items or are only just starting!

There's no minimum spend on this code, so with the free delivery it make this an ideal (and hassle free) way to pick up the odd item or two that you might have forgotten. I'm always happy with free delivery offers as it means I don't have to go to the High Street shops dragging a reluctant five year old boy with me!

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD!

The simple answer to question of how you can prolong the life of a school uniform might be to not let your child wear it! But that's hardly practical. There are some easy ways to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. And school uniforms are hardly cheap. My son starts Year 1 at a state school in September, and has to wear a blazer, jersey with logo, tie etc. Just the basics, and this only includes one blazer, came to nearly £80. We've still to buy the shoes.

A friend of mine whose son is starting at a comprehensive in September ended up having to fork out over £250 for uniform and school equipment. And that isn't even everything!

So, everything you can do to make items last that little bit longer has to be a GOOD THING surely?

Sew What?

Learn to sew. Or grab a granny to do it for you (which is what I have to do but I am learning!). I can do the basics. Like this one. Mum of two Madeliene says that "although it sounds like a total faff, do go through all their shirts when you buy them and re-sew on the buttons. It really does save you so much grief later in the year when there's so little time to sort these things out. The machines that make these shirts never sew the buttons on properly, and they take a lot of abuse."

With my step-son, my mother-in-law helped out by sewing on patches inside the knee as soon as we got a new pair of trousers. I don't know what he did all day but if we didn't do that he'd wear out a knee within a month.

I talked about patching and mending earlier in the summer - Patch and Mend: Sewing and Darning.

Naming

At the beginning and end of each school year, there seems to be a rash of thefts from school cloakrooms. I know of parents who've been affected by this across a broad spectrum from private prep schools to inner city secondaries. Winter coats are also very prone to going missing.

It isn't all theiving fingers of course. Our kids, especially when they've more important things on their mind like the custard and cake in the canteen, tend to forget about things like where they put their jumper or left their blazer. In those instances, a well named item will quickly find its way back to you.

For this purpose I always sew in labels into the important stuff. This includes his coat, blazer, and jersey. Yes, it is a pain, and I hate it with a passion. I loathe sewing! But the iron-on labels just don't last as long, and fabric pens wash out over time. It also provides him with a little loop on his jersey so he can hang it securely on the peg during the warm weather, so it is less likely to fall on the floor and get kicked around! For other items like shirts (£3.50 for three at Sainsburys) I just use an iron-on label.

For that extra bit of protection against thieves, I take a fabric pen and write his name in huge letters on the inside. One one of his jackets, it is right across the bottom of the back part.

PlayPennies mum Sho has this tip "I always also named the girl's jackets, cardigans, and coats somewhere 'secret' that couldn't be readily seen. Because we live in a small village with just one shop many of them end up with the same items. This way if a girl accidently picks up your daughter's cardi, you can discretely point out to the mum that it is in fact yours."

It'll all come out in the wash

Take care with the washing of clothes, and they'll last that little bit longer for you. For this reason, always use a cool wash. Thirty degrees is friendlier for clothes (and the environment!).

Always wash items like jerseys, jumpers, trousers, skirts and dresses inside out. It'll protect the material from damage and the colour from fading. I also hang them out this way when the weather lets me do so outside, as it keeps sunlight from fading the colour too.

Do the opposite with your whites. Here's what my mum used to do - she would soak our white school shirts in water with lemon juice. Then hang them out in the sun to dry. I always liked the smell of this but have only just worked out why she did that after googling it for this article. Lemon juice and sunlight work as a natural bleach. Who knew?

Finally Footwear

At the moment my son is growing out of his shoes faster than he is wearing them out so I hadn't really worried about ways to make the shoes last longer. One tip I found online was to use dubbin - a tin will set you back about £2. Well I don't know if this is better to use on shoes than Scotchguard, but according to Wikipedia it is made of natural wax, oil and tallow, and will soften, condition and water proof leather.

I loved using this stuff on my hiking boots when I was a teenager. And it really did keep my feet nice and dry!

I'm sure that other mums have way more practical tips than I've given here. What other things do you think I can do/shouldn't do to make a school uniform last longer?

Yes you read that right! Marks and Spencer have school uniform items starting from just £1!

• Click HERE to bag some back to school bargains

When I was at school all uniform was standard, jumpers with an embroidered school logo were the exception rather than the norm'; my school distinguished itself from the other navy blue uniformed establishements with a tie - yep, a proper tie AND we wore long sleeved cotton shirts in the winter, short in the summer!

When the Teenagers started school everything was logo-embroidered up to the hilt, the right coloured purple socks were only available from the school bursar and the whole uniform experience buying experience was nothing short of being robbed in broad daylight.

Touch wood your child's school has a modicum of common sense and you can take advantage of some rather fab back to school uniform bargains at Marks and Sparks!

It's going to be a bit tricky to link to individual items because of the way M&S have laid this part of the site out, but here are all the value uniform items for girls and here are the value uniform items for boys (click on the pictures to see the uniform items - this really could have been done better).

You can pick up a pack of three polo shirts in either white, sky blue, grey, red or yellow for between £3 and £9 and basic cotton jumpers start at £2.  Both gender trousers start at £3.50, skirts from £2.50 and all have adjustable waists - this little feature has proved invaluable over the years for my teenage son as he's got a little skinny waist.

There are lots of other uniform items available (value range and not - the 'quality' ranges start from £6.50) and if you order school uniform items only you can claim free delivery by using this code at the checkout: SCHOOL10