A Co Antrim student says it's time for schools in Northern Ireland to move away from branded uniforms and move to cheaper alternatives.
Lauren Bond was speaking after it emerged that Stormont's Education Minister wants to introduce statutory guidance to schools here on uniforms, which could include a price cap.
It comes as many families struggle with household bills as a result of increasing food, fuel, energy bills and rising inflation.
Read more: Plans to introduce price cap on NI school uniform are 'crucial'
All of this is putting pressure on household budgets prior to the new academic year as parents and carers are facing the purchase of new uniforms, PE kits, trainers, and school shoes.
Education Minister Michelle McIlveen recently announced that the school uniform grant will increase by 20% this year.
The increased grants now mean parents of post-primary children can get £67.20 for school uniform plus £26.40 for PE kit while primary aged kids will get £42.90.
In Scotland the post-primary grant is £150 while in Wales it is between £125 and £200 depending on the year group. In the Republic the post-primary grant is €275.
Minister McIlveen made a further announcement last week that she intends to introduce statutory guidance, adding that she is seeking legal advice on whether she can introduce a price cap on the cost.
Year 12 student Lauren, from Ballymoney, is the Youth MP for the North Antrim constituency and a member of the Northern Ireland Youth Assembly.
The 15-year-old attends Dalriada School and like many students, she is preparing to return to the classroom in the coming weeks while her parents count the cost of having to pay for new uniforms.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Lauren said: "How long are we going to be giving out these grants and how much work are we going to have to do on these grants?
"Why are we not capping the cost of uniforms and stopping the problem at its root? The current programme is unsustainable and uniforms are just costing too much.
"Uniforms are meant to serve as an equaliser but more often than not it isolates children because they can't afford the full kit or keep up financially when a school decides to update its uniform.
"That is simply not good enough and because of the really expensive prices, many pupils are having to sit in class in someone else's uniform."
Lauren and her older sister, Chloe, 17, purchased their uniforms for the new school year last week and had to fork out £300 for both of them.
"We thought we were being quite economical and environmentally friendly about it all. We were going to reuse most of last year's uniform so we only bought shirts, skirts and one jumper," Lauren explained
"I managed to get my school shoes on sale but it still cost £300 for the two of us and that didn't include our PE kit. I came home and asked my mum how other families were managing that because no grant is going to cover such an extortionate amount.
"There seems to be no consistency from school to school and £90 for a blazer is really unreasonable when there are people struggling to feed their families. I didn't get a new blazer for this term and even at a push, it doesn't wear very well after last year, especially with all the dry cleaning.
"We've decided that buying a new blazer for every single school year is unsustainable so we're trying to reuse them for this year. My sister is in sixth form and it's not as if I can even use her old uniform because the school actually changes them when you get to that stage.
"Our parents don't qualify for any grants and while I realise that we're very fortunate to be able to pay for the uniforms ourselves, it's still very expensive.
"There are only two specific shops where we can buy our branded uniform and afterwards we walked into a supermarket only to find non-branded versions of exactly what we had just bought.
"Obviously they were on sale at much cheaper prices so you do feel really cheated that your parents have worked hard for this money but you can buy the same uniform items at half the price elsewhere.
"It's frustrating for everyone no matter how much money you have to pay over the odds for what are quite basic clothes."
Lauren says her school recently updated its PE kit but she intends to wear non-branded sportswear items already in her wardrobe.
"I didn't see the point in buying the branded version when we have so many sports clothes at home that are just as good as those with the brand on them. The branded version doesn't make me run any faster!" she added.
"I do feel a bit isolated that I don't have the same jogging bottoms as all the other girls but it just seems so wasteful when I could wear what PE kits I have for another year."
Last week it also emerged that about a quarter of post-primary schools in Northern Ireland are benefiting financially, or in kind, from directing students to buy specific PE wear from certain branded sportswear companies.
The Department of Education has said that the views of all interested parties including parents, pupils and schools will play an important role in seeking to reduce the costs of school uniforms for families.
Lauren added: "I know that the school uniform grants are really appreciated and so many families desperately need them but we need to nip the problem in the bud. That problem is that uniforms are far too expensive.
"We need to move away from the branded uniform, stop paying for a logo and move to cheaper alternatives.
"At the end of the day, it's all about making sure that students get an education, are on an equal playing field and have the same opportunities as everyone else."
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