Is your child starting big school in September or moving up a year? We know, it’s crazy how quickly school years fly by! For those new to secondary school shopping, there will be a few extra purchases you will have to make that weren’t necessary before. To make it easy we’ve rounded up our favourite back to school retailers so you can focus on enjoying the last of the summer with your kids.
Heading back to school after spending the final part of their last school year in lockdown may have heightened anxiety for both you and your kids, which is completely normal even though the current situation is anything but. Take a look at our article here on how to ease those nerves.
Uniform and shoes
First on the list is uniforms which may be stricter than what your little one had to adhere to at primary school. You will have received information on what clothing you need as this may include a school blazer and tie, both may be completely new to your child so spend some time teaching them how to tie their tie and making sure they’re comfortable with their new grown-up uniform.
We work with a bunch of great retailers who have everything covered when comes to uniform. Check out John Lewis & Partners for up to 5% back (usually 1.5%), M&S for 1.3%, H&M for 4% back, Matalan for 0.6% back and Clarks for 2% back. Sorted.
P.E Kit
Schools have to have a minimum of 2 hours of physical education a week for your children but this can vary per school. The kit needed may be more extensive than what your little one needed at primary school. This may now include a netball skirt, shin pads, mouth guards and school branded sportswear.
We recommend checking out the retailers mentioned above and also Decathlon up to 2.5% back and JD Sports up to 4% back.
Stationery
The list of stationery required will most likely have doubled in size with math sets, fountain pens, highlighters, notepads and potentially much more now being required. Your child’s school should provide a list of what they expect your child to need.
On KidStart we offer savings back at WHSmith – 3% back and eBay – 1% back (usually 0.7%).
Homework and revision
This may be an area that you and your kids are nervous for, whether they’re starting Secondary School for the first time or beginning their GCSEs. The pressures and workload of homework may have increased. However, some of you will have mastered some successful working schedules with your kids or discovered some helpful apps and websites whilst in lockdown, all of which will be really useful once they head back to school. This great article by Childline has some tips on how to make homework and revision more manageable for your children – we definitely recommend checking it out.
Good luck to all of the children heading back to school. To keep up to date with back to school at KidStart check out our new