Uniform
Please see our uniform checklist for school uniform and PE uniform.
Please see below a letter regarding changes to school uniform from September 2026.
Equipment
All students must have a school bag with planner, and a pencil case with black pen, pencil, eraser, and ruler. The bag must be large enough to carry A4 size books, and PE uniform when required. Having these items allows for the smooth running of lessons and no lesson time is wasted as students are ready to learn.
Jewellery and Make-up
No jewellery, piercings of any kind, make-up, false eyelashes, acrylic nails, or nail varnish allowed. No exceptions. A wrist watch is the only item students are now able to wear and it must not be a smart watch.
Mobile Devices
Mobile phones/smartwatches and other electronic technology must be always switched off on the academy site, kept out of view and remain switched off until students exit the academy site at the end of the day. If a child is seen with any of the items above in the school, they will be confiscated, placed in the safe, and will only be returned to a parent/carer at the end of the academy day.
Hair Styles
Hair styles must be simple, and any hair colouring must look natural. The academy does not permit hairstyles that reflect the extremes of fashion – unnatural or extravagant colours, extensions, beads, or designs cut into the hair are not permitted.
The Department of Education believes school uniform “can play a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone.” The Hetton Academy leaders agree and believe that maintaining this standard sets a tone that transfers to the positive Mindset of students when they are learning, and so it is crucial that expectations and standards remain at the highest level.
Hetton Academy has a duty to make sure that the uniform we require is affordable, in line with statutory guidance from the Department for Education on the cost of school uniform. As an academy, we have catered for the needs of our community and negotiated cost savings with the suppliers which are being passed on to parents/carers.
School wear Associate Research 2020 indicates that the cost of the compulsory school uniform and sportswear items in the UK is £101.19 per student. On average, the ‘per student spend’ of compulsory items by Hetton students was £36.24 per year (not all items need to be replaced annually). For the items deemed compulsory, we are the most cost-effective in Sunderland, and we fall into the top 25% of schools in the UK for cheapest compulsory items (at May 2022 prices)
We will make sure our uniform:
- Is available at a reasonable cost
- Provides the best value for money for parents/carers