Overweight children are being tailored to, literally, by leading retailer Marks & Spencer.

Marks and Spencer has launched a new range of over-sized school uniforms for children that are aged as young as four. The decision comes after studies reveal that one out of every five British schoolchildren is clinically overweight when they begin their schooling.

In the new M&S Plus school wear range, items include clothing designed for pre-school children who have waistlines of anywhere up to 23 inches – which is the size more usually found on the average eight year old. Marks and Spencer has said that the trial range of clothing followed demand for bigger sizes from parents, while industry experts said that the decision simply reflected the growing rate of obesity among younger children.

According to the National Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry, the move was commercial recognition of what the public and parents had been aware of for years, namely, that obesity levels in pre-schoolers is on the rise. Fry added that of all new entrants to primary schools across Britain, 27 per cent were obese or overweight.

The Plus school wear collection hit the shelves last week, and targets the 3 – 16 age bracket, with waistlines in both boys pants and girls skirts ranging up to 41 inches. A spokesperson for M&S said that they wanted to ensure that their school wear range was accessible to all shapes and sizes of pupil.

When it comes to the dress sense of her daughter Lourdes, pop icon Madonna says she is no different from any other mum.

Despite being consistently named as one of fashion’s pioneers over the past quarter of a decade, the music legend claims that her daughter’s school wear remains understated and modest. She even admited that she has had to ask her daughter to remove three-inch and six-inch platforms and wear her skirt a little longer.

Madonna, 51, says she has had OMG moments where she won’t let little Lourdes out of the house in some outfits, but no worse than any other parent. The celebrity mother was speaking to reporters at the launch of a new line of fashion wear that she and Lourdes have collectively been the brains behind, which is set to hit shops in the US next month. The range has been christened Material Girl, after the classic 80s song which featured Madonna is mesh vests, torn tutu, multiple scarves and combat boots. It continues Madonna’s association with fashion creation, having helped H&M design a line of women’s wear in 2007.

Unsurprisingly, Lourdes has said she is obsessed with the 80s period – although arguing that short-shorts tended to make your bum look quite big. According to her online blog, she is also celebrating that her mother had finally allowed her to dye her hair

Pop’s leading lady said she has had a couple of moments where ‘Lola’ ‘has appeared before her in an outfit which Mads has deemed ‘inappropriate’. The proud mum claims she is usually stunned by her daughter’s taste in clothes, be it in a good or bad way.

Last year saw personal UK consumers take out a massive £37 million in loans to help cover the cost of their education.

New data released from Sainsbury’s Finance show that education costs increased in the 12 months till the end of February by five per cent, with the group attributing the higher costs as the main reason for bank assistance which was mainly used to pay university and school fees, personal loans and general education costs.

The supermarket bank estimated that close to 4,400 personal loans were arranged over the past year at an average rate of £8,500 for assistance with educational charges. The breakdown from Sainsbury’s Finance showed that 1,100 loans were granted at a total worth of £12.25 million to help payment of school fees.  University and college fees were worth £13.56 million across 1,900 loans.

Sainsbury’s Finance Head of Loans, Steven Baillie, confirmed that the cost of education was indeed rising, with school fees up by 5.9 per cent, while the Consumer Price Index educational component grew by five per cent. The slow pace of the economic recovery meant that many students still faced challenges to generate the revenue required for the completion of their studies.

An evaluation of government data by Sainsbury’s Finance discovered that £8.8 billion was spent on education between 2006 and 2008 across the UK – a figure which showed dramatic variances between regional fees. London students paid an average of £770 a year, as compared to just £208 in the North West of Britain.