Pre-loved School Uniform Pop-Up Shop 2025
August 2025
On Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August, Walton Charity hosted our second pre-loved school uniform pop-up shop.
The event took place at The Bridge, our community hub in the centre of Walton-on-Thames. We transformed all three floors of the hub, which are normally set-up as our shop-without-a-till where working families who are struggling financially can access food and other support.
Local parents will know that the return to school is an expensive time of year, with growing children regularly needing new school uniform, shoes, PE kit, and stationery.
“You have no idea how grateful we are, this has taken so much monetary stress away.”
Nationally, many parents are concerned about the rising costs of uniform, particularly branded items, which mean that they struggle to get all the items their children need by the time September comes around. Expensive branded items also mean that many items can’t be reused by other parents who have children in different schools, increasing the financial burden and the negative environmental impact.
That’s why we decided to open up The Bridge again this year and are so grateful for the huge amounts of high-quality, branded and unbranded items we received from generous members of the public and our partners at Stripey Stork.
On the day, we provided 95 Elmbridge families and 182 children with high quality, free items of clothing. In total, we distributed 962 items of clothing, shoes, PE kits, and rucksacks to local people!
We have calculated that we saved families in total an average of £6,817 across all unbranded items. But the pop-up shop was more than just a money saver. Feedback from the families on the day showed how offering a helping hand meant more than just free items of clothing. For some parents, it lifted a weight off their shoulders.
“I am in tears, thank you and may you be blessed on behalf of me (a single mum) and my son.”
It also prevented nearly a thousand clothing items from ending up in landfill, saving both money and the environment.
Thank you to everyone who donated school uniforms - your generosity has made a real difference to local families. We also extend our gratitude to our friendly and welcoming volunteers for organising and running the event so smoothly. Lastly, a big thank you to all the families who attended our second pre-loved pop-up school uniform event.
Feedback from parents
Article by Amy Dixon, Walton Charity’s Policy and Communications Officer