When it comes to shopping for school shoes, knowing the right kind of shoes you need, should be top of your list. Whether your kid attends a school that requires formal school shoes that adhere to a specific style (like a brown t-bar) or their school has a more relaxed uniform policy that allows either sporty sneakers or black shoes in the classroom – you're sure to find everything you need at The Athlete’s Foot. Check out our guidelines below for the key differences between more formal shoes and black sports shoes – and what you might need to look out for when shopping for your kids school footwear this year.

Formal School Shoes

Key things to spot:

Outward Appearance

You’ll mostly find that formal school shoes are constructed from leather or PU materials. This adds to the formality – but don’t assume that all leather means compromising on comfort. Our range of Alpha Footwear offers a great selection of comfortable leather shoes, which are designed to support your kids throughout the school year.

Black leather looks and stays quite smart looking but we recommend investing in a shoe care kit and adhering in a weekly maintenance routine to keep them looking pristine and smart.

From our Alpha range, we highly recommend the Lennox and the Stevie which comes in sizes ranging from Pre-School through to high school sizes.

Fastening Styles

You’ll find black formal shoes come in a large selection of fastening options that mostly include:

• Lace-up
• Buckle
• Mary Jane
• T-Bar
• Self-Fastening

Self-fastening and buckles are highly recommended for younger children who have not yet learned to tie their laces. You might find some of the more formal uniform policies can even require a specific type of fastening, so make sure that you read through your school’s policy before popping out and making your school footwear choice. Our collection of Clarks School Shoes offer a choice of different fastenings across their whole  school shoe footwear range. Catering to kids of all ages too.

 

Comfort

Although it might seem like Active Footwear will be more comfortable, our range of formal school shoes are not playing around when it comes to offering comfort technology. For instance, some Clarks silhouettes offer a leather lining and inbuilt sock in the interior, whilst some models in the Alpha  range come constructed with a supportive PU midsole; it will mould to your kids’ natural foot shape providing the supportive cushioning where you need it most.


Formal School Shoe Brands

We stock a huge choice of formal school shoe brands for you to choose from for your little one. Whether it’s a heritage brand like Dr. Martens or a newcomer to the game like Alpha. You will simply be spoilt for choice when looking for smart shoes. Our range of formal school shoe brands includes:

• Alpha
• Clarks
• Harrison
• Dr. Martens
• Roc
• Skobi
• Ascent

Black Sports Shoes

Whether your kids’ school ehas a more laid back uniform policy and allows black sports shoes, or they are still required to wear black shoes for PE – here’s a breakdown of what to look for to get the most out of black sports shoes for your kids this Back to School season.

Outward Appearance

Sports Shoes don’t usually tend to be constructed with leather on the outside, so you’ll find these kinds of sneakers have an engineered mesh upper as well as rubber outsoles. High wear zones are usually reinforced with a toecap and toe rubber stitching too. Our range of black Asics sneakers for kids are ideal if you need something sleek but functional for the kids.

Fastening Styles

Sporty shoes are slightly more limited when it comes to offering a choice of fastenings in comparison to formal footwear. You’ll find athletic sneakers predominantly offer the following options for taking their shoes on and off:

• Lace Up
• Self-Fastening
• Slip-On

Asics offer a great hybrid option in their contend silhouette, across both self-fastening and lace up.

 

Comfort

Nothing beats the comfort of a pair of sneakers. Blending sporting performance with the function of a uniform friendly school shoe, you kids will last the whole day on their feet in a pair of these. From New Balance Fresh Foam technology through to Asics Flytefoam technology. You’ll find supporting cushioning designed to take on day to day impact.

Sporty School Shoe Brands

We have a huge choice of sporty school shoe brands here at The Athlete’s Foot. One of the advantages of sportier styles is their versatility, whether they’re being worn in the classroom or they’re being used for PE class. Our top sporty school shoe brands include:

• Asics
• New Balance

Sporty shoes with colour

If your kids’ school has a more relaxed policy, we also have a range of sports shoes that are black with flashes of colour, so the kids can really stand out. We love the Asics GT 2000 and New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro 7 ranges that comes in heaps of multicolour options.



There you have it, we hope you found our guide to formal and sporty shoes useful! If you want to know more, we recommend booking an appintment with one of our fit technicians to help you get your kids feet fitted whether it’s for PE or the classroom.