Nothing says “back to school” like a box fresh pair of smart shoes – traditionally flat, black and polish-able. But school shoes not only need to answer to uniform rules – schools regularly send children home for breach of clothing policy – but they have to be comfortable, supportive enough to endure energetic break times and really well-made.
As any parent or carer will know, children’s feet never seem to stop growing, so what you buy now might not last you the year but they will hopefully fit for six months, at least. This means buckles, soles and insoles need to be durable. School shoes are going to be working as hard as their wearers.
It’s really important that children wear the correct shoe size – wearing shoes that are either too small or too big can lead to blisters and limping in the short term but potentially much bigger issues later in life. Most good shoe shops have a measuring service – or you can buy a home measuring device such as this one from Start-Rite.
While there are lots of vegan options about, many school shoes are made from leather. This means you’ll need to invest in some polish in order to keep them looking fresh.
There are plenty of options on the market – from sporty “rip tape” fastens to pretty Mary-Janes or preppy brogues – catering to pre-schoolers all the way up to GCSE students and beyond.
How we tested
We recruited a team of children aged between four and 12 to help us test: this consisted of wearing the shoes for at least a full day. We asked the children to walk and play in the shoes but stressed that they were not for playing sport in.
We wanted to see the promise of durability, comfort, simplicity to put on and take off (even without parents about) and style. It was also important that the shoes could be cleaned easily. We also took into account how many credentials each pair had in terms of orthopaedic health and we wanted to ensure that we included some brilliant bargains for lower budgets.
The best kids’ school shoes for 2022 are:
- Best overall – Start-Rite impulsive II lace-ups: £60, Startriteshoes.com
- Best slip ons – Next motionflex loafers: From £35, Next.co.uk
- Best boots – Bobux jodhpur boots: £70, Bobux.co.uk
- Best classic shoe – M&S leather lace up brogues: From £32, Marksandspencer.com
- Best for comfort – Toe Zone gem vegan: £28, Toezone.co.uk
- Best for a pretty aesthetic – Deichmann graceland T-bars: £19.99,
- Best for low budgets – Shoezone trux easy fasten: £12.99, Shoezone.com
- Best for orthopaedic health – Vivobarefoot wyn school II: £70, Vivobarefoot.com
- Best vegan option – Kickers tovni trip vegan: £48, Kickers.co.uk
- Best for withstanding energetic playtimes – Matalan coated leather trainers: From £14.50, Matalan.co.uk
