Why pupils are getting custom school leavers' shirts made for their last day

Article excerpt

As students across England prepare to leave secondary school, a cottage industry of custom shirt designers has sprung up to meet demand for personalized leavers' apparel. The tradition, which sits alongside GCSE exam cramming, sees pupils spending hours designing shirts emblazoned with inside jokes, school memories, and personalized graphics, a rite of passage that has become increasingly elaborate. Local printers and online companies now offer quick turnarounds for bulk orders, with some schools reporting that nearly entire year groups coordinate matching designs. What began as a handful of students with marker pens has evolved into a significant market, reflecting how school leavers' celebrations have become more commercialized and Instagram-ready over the past decade.