The Forest High School gives students retail therapy with first ever classroom thrift shop

Gen Zs are driving a resurgence in the popularity of second-hand clothing and kids at The Forest High School are no exception, setting up crisis support charity Lifeline’s first in-school thrift shop.

A disused classroom at The Forest High School has been transformed into Lifeline's first ever school-based Op Shop. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Hashtag grandma-core” has taken over TikTok and now it’s taking over classrooms too, with a high school in Sydney’s northern beaches the first to open its own thrift shop on campus.

Students at The Forest High School in Frenchs Forest have teamed up with crisis support service Lifeline Northern Beaches to set up a small charity op-shop in a disused classroom at the back of the science department, stocking second-hand fits for a spot of lunchtime retail therapy.

Year 9 student Penny Fuller is one of the volunteer staff stacking shelves and wooing would-be customers at the new outlet, dubbed ‘Forest Fashion’.

“(Our stock) is mostly T-shirts and jeans, but we’ve also got necklaces and other accessories, like shoes, handbags and jackets,” she said.

“Thrift shops are pretty big right now – quite a few of my friends are volunteering.”

Volunteer student Penny Fuller, 14, (right) helps fellow student Melina Diphoorn, 13, choose some items. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Socially-conscious Gen Zs are driving a resurgence in the popularity of second-hand clothing, seeking out affordable items from charity shops like Lifeline, Vinnies and the Salvos or for-profit resellers, setting internet trends that have made ‘vintage’ cool again.

There are more than 45,000 videos on TikTok tagged with the aesthetic #grandmacore alone.

#grandmacore has taken over TikTok.

The trend involves thrift shopping for vintage clothes and homewares.

The Forest High School principal Nathan Lawler said all the items at Forest Fashion – which are donated to Lifeline NB who then provide the school’s stock – are priced at $5 and then discounted to $2 after two weeks on the racks.

“Even though we’re in an affluent area on the northern beaches, our families don’t always have a lot of money for new clothing so it was important we kept it affordable,” he said.

Profits will be split 50/50 between Lifeline NB and the school, but Mr Lawler said the real purpose of the little op-shop is for the students to build stronger bonds with each other and with the school.

“If we make money from the shop, then that’s just a bonus,” he said.

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