A leavers' hoodie should be more than something pupils wear for the last few weeks of term. Get it right and it becomes a proper keepsake — something they’ll still be wearing years after they’ve left school.
The trick is to start with the design and the people wearing it, rather than simply looking for the cheapest hoodie.
Make it personal
There are plenty of ways to create a design that feels unique to the year group. A classic graduation-year design can incorporate pupil names, while individual personalisation could include names, nicknames, initials, classes or houses.
School identity can also be included through the crest, school name, colours and year group without making the hoodie look like everyday school uniform.
Choose the right garment
The hoodie itself matters just as much as what's printed on it. Weight, softness, fit, colour, washability and durability all affect how the finished hoodie feels — and whether pupils actually want to keep wearing it.
Think about the balance between print and embroidery, too. Large back designs are generally well suited to print, while a smaller crest or premium detail can work particularly well as embroidery.
Get the ordering right
Sizing can be surprisingly complicated, particularly with Year 6 and Year 11 groups where children's and adult sizes may both be required.
And then there are the names.
A single, centrally approved list of pupil names and sizes can save a lot of headaches and avoid the dreaded "you've spelt my name wrong" conversation on collection day.
It's also worth allowing plenty of time for artwork approval, collecting orders, production and those inevitable last-minute additions.
Make something they'll actually keep
The best leavers' hoodie doesn't look like something that will be worn once for a photograph and then disappear into the back of a wardrobe.
It should feel like their hoodie, rather than another piece of school uniform.
At Apparel Monkey, we don't believe in simply throwing a price at a school and asking you to work out the rest. We'll help you look at the garment, design, personalisation, sizing and ordering process so the finished result is something pupils are genuinely proud to wear.
Because it's their leavers' hoodie. It deserves to be reyt.