Shepherd & Woodward

The most inefficient and disorganised place I have come across, and we are trapped for school uniform. They never seem to have sufficient uniform in the right sizes at the beginning of the school year.
For the last 3 years we have had the same issues; no shirts/​rugby shirts/​trousers/​track suits etc. the right size. Hours spent turning up trousers because they, once again, haven’t got the right sizes. The staff annoyingly simper when asked when the right sizes will be in and have no answers. Not good enough.
They seem to be incapable of forward planning. It is weeks since the start of term. When I tried to make a purchase during the holidays I was told by the staff that the tracksuits would arrive in 2 weeks. I’m now told it will be 6 weeks. Surely they should have been ordering stock well in advance of running out? ‘Oh, well they have to be specially made,’ said the assistant. Well if they know that, why don’t they order in good time? The school is not going to disappear!
After 3 years I am more than a bit annoyed but have nowhere else to go. The shop management always appear smug about this and care not about their frazzled customers.

This is a wonderfully neat and well-​laid out shop that seems to have very cute clothing for kids aside from the uniforms, too. It is actually one of the few places that also has a good selection of sewing paraphenalia — thread, zippers, etc., which is how I originally came upon it. All in all, I hope stores like this stay around and don’t get pushed out by the national retailers.

Some children I know love going to this shop. By some miracle, it seems to succeed in making school uniform shopping fun! It’s suitable for state school uniform as well, and stocks plain shirts, trousers, skirts and so on, as well as uniform for specific schools.
Most of the stuff is good quality, and although it’s expensive, it’s not extortionate. The service is impeccable — I always feel like a member of royalty when they ask me if I need any help. They’re happy to assist with fitting as well, and are well-​informed about uniform requirements for different schools.
There are fewer tourists in this branch than the central Oxford branch, which means it’s more pleasant to get what you need. On the other hand, the central one is generally better for students, as it is prepared for mass demand for gowns and sub fusc.

An old fashioned shop whose main business is selling school uniforms for most of the private schools in Oxford. They also stock sportswear and equipment, expensive children’s clothes and haberdashery, as well as toys.
The reason I like the shop is that when they have a sale there are often real bargins to be had. I bought school jumpers here for only a few pounds in the sale and 4 years later they are still going strong.
I also like their toys. There isn’t a huge range and they aren’t cheap. On the other hand that is part of their attraction — they tend to be well made and unusual. They have lovely wooden toys for the under 5s plus lots of interesting looking kits (crafts, electrical, build your own metal detector etc). And they have cheaper toys that children could buy for themselves pocket money toys.
Each year at Christmas they have a great window display which often continues inside and they often collect money for a charity by having a lucky dip.