It’s that time of year where we say goodbye to the summer holidays and get prepared for the new school year ahead. With kids of all ages, it’s likely you’ll need to replace the essentials to help them stay organised, as we know most school items don’t make it through a whole year. There’s so much choice when it comes to stationery that we’ve compiled a list of the absolute basics for you, covering pretty much all situations without breaking the bank.
You can’t go far wrong with a ballpoint pen. They’re cheap and last a long time, and don’t have the tendency to spill and ruin pencil cases, unlike fountain pens. It’s a good idea to have a few different colours for note taking.
It’s always a good idea to have a pencil or two to hand. Unless your child is taking an art course, a pack of basic HB pencils should do the job just fine. Coloured pencils always look pretty, but there’s probably no real need for them in the classroom.
A simple rubber is always handy, especially if your child does a lot of artwork. Some pencils come with rubbers on the end, although these don’t tend to last as long as the pencil. A larger rubber is a good back up.
Pencils don’t last long without a sharpener around. An often overlooked stationery item, pencil sharpeners are essential if your child uses pencils a lot.
A 30cm ruler will cover most subject areas, although a 15cm ruler is easier to fit into a pencil case. Rulers come in handy for most lessons, and will be needed to underline headings and dates.
Let's be honest: highlighting is actually a fun part of learning! It’s a great way of picking out important information from text, and should be a staple of any student.
Without a pencil case, it’s almost a guarantee that pens, pencils and other items will get lost, so a good sized pencil case will help them stay organised. A clear one is sometimes a requirement for secondary school exams.
A scientific calculator is a necessity for maths, especially for the higher grades of secondary school. For younger children, a pocket calculator will probably suffice.
A notebook for rough work will keep exercise books neat and tidy. Choosing a project book with page dividers allows you to dedicate sections to particular lessons.
With so much work on computers now, a USB stick is essential for storing coursework and other important documents. We recommend finding one to attach to your pencil case to keep it secure.
