Year 12 jumpers and leavers hoodies are the one piece of school uniform students actually choose, and the one they keep long after they finish. Year 12 jumpers in Bendigo are usually organised by a coordinator or a small student committee, on top of everything else that happens in the final year. This timeline breaks the job into steps, so the jumpers arrive while there is still plenty of year left to wear them.
The short version: pick the day you want to hand them out, then work back. Most of the time goes on agreeing the design and collecting sizes and names from a whole year level, not on making the jumpers.
Step 1: pick the hand-out date
Start with the day the jumpers go to students. Many schools aim for early in the year, so the year group wears them through winter, exams and every excursion. Others time them for a camp, a formal or the last weeks of term.
Whatever you choose, write the date down and share it with the year level. Every other step hangs off it, and a firm date is the best way to get sizes and payments back on time.
Step 2: agree the garment and the design
Choose the garment first, because it decides what the design can do.
Pullover hoodies are the most popular leavers top. Our Stencil hood is a heavyweight hoodie that holds its shape, and the Relax hood has a roomier fit.
Crew jumpers suit schools that prefer a neater look or have a no-hood rule. See the Supply crew and the Relax crew.
Zip hoodies are easier to wear over a uniform shirt and to take off in class. Our zip hoodie is the one to look at.
Then the design. Most year 12 jumpers follow the same pattern:
Front: the school crest or a year group logo on the left chest, printed or embroidered. A stitched crest looks sharp and lasts, and our guide to logo embroidery explains what stitches well.
Back: the year, the school name and every student's name or nickname, printed as one design.
Sleeve: the year number, a short motto or the house colours.
Keep the design simple and give the committee a deadline to agree it. Two strong ideas side by side make the vote easy. Our guide to school and club printing that looks professional has more on getting the design right.
A heavyweight hoodie with a small chest logo, like the ones National Heating & Cooling's crew wear around Bendigo, stays looking good through a full year of wear and washing. That matters more for a year 12 top than any other garment the school orders.
Step 3: collect sizes and names
This is the step that takes longest, so give it the most time. We send a simple size list for the year group to fill in, with a column for the name exactly as each student wants it printed.
Check the size chart. Each product page has one. The easiest way to choose is to lay a hoodie that already fits flat and measure it across the chest.
Agree the nickname rules early. Decide who signs off names before the list goes out, so nothing goes on the back that the school would rather not see.
Chase the stragglers by name. A shared list with blanks is easier to chase than a pile of loose emails.
Include staff. Year level coordinators and homeroom teachers often want one too.
Step 4: check the proof
Once the design and the list are in, every name and every size goes on the proof. Read it slowly, ideally with two people: one reading the original list aloud, one checking the proof. Spelling, capitals and the order of names on the back are the things that are easiest to miss and hardest to change later. Once the proof is approved, that is exactly what gets made.
Step 5: pay, make and hand out
Year 12 orders are paid before production starts, or on 30-day terms if your school has an approved account with us. Send your purchase order number and it is printed on the invoice, so the order goes through your business office the usual way. Your quote shows an estimated ready date, which makes it easy to plan the hand-out around it.
A Bendigo example timeline
Say a Bendigo secondary school wants year 12 jumpers handed out at the first assembly of term 2. Working back, the committee agrees a navy pullover hoodie with the crest on the chest and every name on the back in the first weeks of term 1. The size and name list goes out straight after and comes back before the long weekend, with a few reminders. The proof is checked by the coordinator and two students, the school sends its purchase order number, and the estimated ready date on the quote sits well before the assembly. The same plan works for schools in nearby towns like Castlemaine and Echuca.
What changes the price
The garment. Heavyweight hoodies, crews and zip hoodies start from different prices.
How many print spots. Front, back and sleeve are priced as separate spots on each garment.
Print or embroidery. An embroidered chest crest is priced differently from a printed one.
How many you order. The price per jumper comes down as the quantity goes up, so ordering for the whole year group at once helps. Our guide on how many to order covers spares.
Year 12 jumpers are one part of the school year. Our school printing calendar shows what else schools order each term, and printing for schools covers signs, certificates and uniforms.
Your next step
Send us the hand-out date, the garment you like and a rough number on our enquiry page. We will come back with a quote and the size list for the year group. See school and club printing in Bendigo for everything else we make for schools.
