What rucksack for a year 7 girl starting senior school?

[CruCru]

My daughter will be travelling to school by train and will need a new rucksack. If you have any recommendations, please could you let me know? It will need to take an iPad / laptop as well as her other stuff.

What's cool and trendy varies form school to school but you can't go wrong with a black Nike or Adidas rucksack IMO. Many rucksacks have a laptop compartment these days.

If at all possible I would either a) hang out near the school and see what kind of bags the younger pupils have at your particular school or b) join the parents WhatsApp or FB group and ask.

Failing that start school with an old primary school backpack and let dc choose one a few weeks after starting school.

If you insist on a sensible backpack then make the branding subtle! My dd does not run with the popular pack but she would not tolerate an ugly backpack if the uncool branding was very over.

This year (Y10) she chose a black 25l laptop backpack from American Tourister - it has been incredibly hard-wearing, waterproof, comfortable and is huge so she can squidge her coat inside along with folders, books, art supplies, drink/snack and tech. This is fab because she has a 40 min walk each way and nothing gets lost/left in her locker. We actually bought it in mainland Europe but you can buy other colour variants here. I was hugely surprised she went for something so practical but she has been smug all year because she can fit everything in her bag including several A4 folders.

Most kids go for an all black shoulder bag or a sportier 15l backpack but for all the stuff they carry it’s not really adequate. You might get away with it in Y7 but I’d be aiming for something more sensible by Y9.

my grand daughter has requested two;
this bigger one Räven 28
and this one Kånken Laptop 17"
I gather the 28 has padded straps

Lurking

Super, thank you! Am going to check out the Fjallraven and American Tourister bags.

At present she has a Roka bag but the straps are a bit too thin for all she carries (no laptop but she carries a lot of music folders and has to get the bus to school). Plus it’s filthy.

The Fjallraven looks pretty but not very practical with all the pockets and compartments. In that respect it's the opposite style to the ubiquitous kanken which seems to have fallen out of favour but was ridiculously popular a few yeas ago.

I found this on Amazon. It looks like it’s waterproof.

https://amzn.eu/d/hFZnPU0

The problem is that my daughter is still quite small for 11 but is likely to have a lot of music stuff as well as school stuff. So she really needs a supportive bag (which the Rola isn’t really).

All the girls at the school near me seem to carry Longchamp bags. Le Pillage I think it’s called.

My DD had a plain Muji backpack- plain enough to be neutral with a hint of Japanese style. I wouldn’t invest too much as she’ll change her mind often throughout her school life.

Sorry (drip feed), I should have said that £60 is about my limit to spend (ideally £40ish) as I have two children both starting senior schools in September (so need to get two bags).

What kind of music stuff?

If sheet music, that will fit easily with everything else in any normal rucksack.

Mine would never have been seen with a backpack!!

It was always a nice bag from River Island for the girls.

Just sheet music and books in a folder. It just adds a bit more to the overall weight.

She will be carrying an instrument (violin) in one hand so will need a supportive rucksack.

It depends on the school, no one carries shoulder bags at my dc's, only girls in 6th form do. However, girls at another local secondary carry black bags from New Look or similar. Some uniform shops have a selection of popular rucksacks and bags.

Stevenson's has junior and senior backpacks in navy and black on their web site.
the price point is in the 40GBP region.

My dds had a shoulder bag with musical notes on it one had a violin slogan the other a wind section one - fitted everything in it and bought from a music shop

Rucksack
i agree with PPs before you commit to a branded bag you need to be clear on what is ‘in’ at your DCs school I have two DC at two different schools and it’s very different . What my eldest started with was not what she wanted to be seen with by half term.
we have repeat purchased this ( or similar ) from Amazon - not too many pockets so things don’t get lost , a slip wallet for her iPad and tons of space for all the other paraphernalia she carries - including sheet music !
it’s also cheap enough that if it gets trashed I don’t care but they have been durable .
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HYC00-Backpack-Lightweight-Rucksack-Resistant/dp/B0DB2CNXH7

Is she having transition days? If so, would you be collecting her or dropping her off? I arrived early to collect DD1 from her transition day so that I could check out all the bags and shoes on the existing students so we could get the right thing. And I didn’t rush to get her winter coat in advance either. We waited until she could observe and knew what she wanted. It’s hard enough getting a teenager to put a coat on, but it’s completely impossible to get them to wear one that’s uncool.

Dd went for a forest green puma rucksack for y7. Most of the girls gave similar, hype ones also seem.popular here.

However, lots of them have large handbag style bags similar to this...
https://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/accessories/purses-and-cardholders/black-tote-bag-and-purse-set/p/894176701

Dd has bought herself a similar one today for starting y8 but I suspect it will be battered before the term ends in 3 weeks!

Mine has her sister's old puma black backpack. By Year 9 they have handbags. Any backpack will do as long as it's black -£25 max!

Vans are well made supportive and not uncool

Mine started year 7 with a plain black rucksack, replaced with a New Look shoulder bag by Christmas, year 8 is a MK shoulder bag (vinted) but for year 9 she wants to go back to a rucksack, Nike, I suspect.

Dd2 going up to year 7 also wants a black rucksack, we'll see how long that lasts!

Thanks all. She has had her induction day but I think all the girls who are already there were offsite so I didn’t get to check out their bags.