The ASDA school uniform for under £10

The outfit, on sale at Asda, includes a polo shirt, vest, sweatshirt, briefs, socks, trousers or skirt, and black scuff- resistant shoes.

The price tag is for children from three to six, but larger versions are available at £12.96 for six to 10-year-olds and £13.96 for 10 to 12-year-olds.

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Woolworths hit back by announcing it will sell school trousers and skirts for £2, shirts and blouses for £1, jumpers and cardigans for £2, and shoes for £8.

The half-term squeeze on prices comes amid concern that schools prevent parents from taking advantage of high street prices by demanding a specific logo or trim that means clothes have to be bought from more expensive suppliers.

The practice came under fire in a recent Office of Fair Trading report which found it meant parents were paying an extra £45million a year.

Research by Which? found that the more expensive garments were often poorer quality than the cheaper ones.

Angela Spindler, managing director of Asda's clothing wing George, said: "Buying the back-to-school wardrobe puts a strain on any parent's purse.

"As we sell more school uniforms than any one else in Britain, we want to put more money back into our customer's pockets."

Woolworths school uniform buyer Debbie Lauchlan said: "There is intense competition among retailers for the £1billion back-to- school market and it's important for us to offer our customers the best possible value.

"School uniforms are cheaper than ever before and our quality standards have not been compromised."

Asda has been accused in the past of using sweatshop factories in the Third World to produce its bargain clothes.

An investigation published by the War on Want charity in December alleged that factory workers in Bangladesh, supplying Asda, Tesco and Primark, were putting in long hours for poor pay.

But Asda said: "George sources everything it sells ethically. By using fewer suppliers its dedicated sourcing team now has long term relationships with the factories it uses, all of which are regularly audited to make sure that they are working to both George's and the Ethical Trading Initiative's code of conduct.

"If an audit highlights any irregularity, George will work with the supplier to put it right."