Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to axe the "school uniform tax" to help cash-strapped families.
A group of charities is leading calls for the Chancellor to scrap VAT on all school-specific items to help hard-pressed Brits in next week's Budget.
The full standard VAT rate of 20% is paid on clothing and shoes for children aged 14 and over.
But parents of younger children have been charged a zero rate for the same items since the introduction of the tax in April 1973.
Campaigners argued that charging VAT “unfairly penalises” older and taller children, while collectively costing families millions of pounds each year.
