Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think I should not have to spend £60 fecking quid on a calculator

120 replies

GrrrrrrFFFFFSSSSSS · 09/09/2014 17:03

DS just started at sixth form college, which, I understand is still a STATE education FFS!

It appears I have to buy him the following as literally NOTHING is provided:

-Paper/folders/exercise books

-£300 worth of text books and that's including some from the second hand bookshop and some cheap off amazon

  • and just as I've recovered from the above, I'm now told I have to buy him some fancy calculator for A level maths which is 60 QUID!

Funny how they don't tell you any of this at the open evenings.

I am honestly staggered.

OP posts:
whois · 09/09/2014 19:33

Kids who fork out for graphical calculators also tend to find that if they do a maths-based degree at Uni, they aren't allowed them in their Uni exams

If AS teacher says you 'need' one and all the class get one, and the teacher teaches using the graphical calculator then you're at a huge disadvantage for AS and A2.

I loved pure maths and mechanics but hated stats. Got to the point on some things I ended up getting my teacher to show me how to do it on the calc so I could at least get an answer down (I know I know you don't get the working marks). Got a B in the S element but almost full marks in P and M so all good in the end.

noblegiraffe · 09/09/2014 19:34

I understand teachers telling a class that they will need one in their class because everyone will have one and they will be taught to pass the exam using one. But people on here saying that it is essential kit in general are just wrong.

noblegiraffe · 09/09/2014 19:37

whois you get full marks on S1 for a question done using a calc function. It doesn't need the working. But even a bog standard casio does stats.

Examiners tend to set exams these days so that fancy calcs don't give too much advantage.

BathshebaDarkstone · 09/09/2014 19:41

YANBU. I'm dreading my younger 2 DCs going to secondary school. We're unemployed. Shock

SuburbanRhonda · 09/09/2014 19:43

At the risk of sounding like one of the four Yorkshiremen, my DD is just off to study specialist makeup and her kit costs £1600 Shock

velouria · 09/09/2014 19:51

I remember having to buy a graphical calculator for a-level maths, and started the course in 1998, actually mine looked much nicer than that, bigger screen for a start. I did love it, and fwiw it's very very different from a scientific calculator, much more useful.

partialderivative · 09/09/2014 19:53

If your DC is doing AS/A2, I'm not sure it is a requirement.

If your DC is completing the IB Diploma, then it is a requirement.

I can only speak for the later in terms of its usefulness. It is expensive, but it is a hugely powerful piece if technology, and can lead to an understanding of a topic that pen and paper will never reveal

(We prefer the TI-84 over the Casio version)

velouria · 09/09/2014 19:55

I remember using it mostly to check that my fully worked out answers to equations etc were reasonable and I hadn't gone loopy along the way.

nonamehere · 09/09/2014 20:02

Noblegiraffe, I'm impressed by that calculator - it seems to do all the useful things for A level that a 9750G does, without the unnecessary extras, and at a much better price. Thanks for the recommendation!

partialderivative · 09/09/2014 20:02

Sorry, I have sort of missed the point of the OP entirely.

Yes, it is lots. But in these times, the use of technology needs to be embraced.

I wonder if, MN existed 30 years ago, whether parents would have been complaining about use of calculators when there were log tables and slide rules sitting about the classroom doing nothing

Phineyj · 09/09/2014 20:04

If you want detail on why the sixth form college is so hard up, post in the Staffroom thread. I believe they have always got less funding per head than sixth forms in 11-18 schools. Bad of the school not to warn you in advance though. Maybe you can help future parents by making a fuss (school could at least bulk-buy and resell). If you are really hard up, is there a hardship fund at the college you can bid to? Those who ask, sometimes get...

Rosa · 09/09/2014 20:11

From elementary we buy everything in Italy apart from the english text books which are provided ..( which we really don't need!!!!) state education = BYO books, paper, pens, In senior school all text books which are about €200-300 every year . With very little chance to pass them on as they get changed yearly .
Oh and we also provide soap for handwashing, A4 paper,paper towels .But we do get fresh cooked school lunches 3 course for €3.50.

partialderivative · 09/09/2014 20:14

Desist Rosa! Your fresh cooked, 3 course lunches have no room in a discussion about calculators.

It will only serve to upset us!

EduCated · 09/09/2014 20:23

Thing is, if you live somewhere where buying all supplies is the norm, you know to expect it and can plan ahead.

The problem seems to be when these costs aren't made known until students have started, or aren't given up front or with very short notice. Of course you expect to have to buy some things, but I wouldn't have expected to be paying upwards of £40 for a calculator.

And if this thread shows anything, it's the variation in expectations from different schools and colleges.

The NUS had/have a Hidden Costs campaign trying to get universities to make extra costs like these more transparent.

ChoudeBruxelles · 09/09/2014 20:26

Turn iphone on it's side and the calculator becomes scientific

londonrach · 09/09/2014 20:32

Yabu. Where would the school get the budget for that. Buy from last years students or ebay.

popmimiboo · 09/09/2014 20:33

Don't complain, my DS' all-singing-all-dancing calculator is €140 Shock
He's in first year sixth form but has promised me it'll last him through uni! They all have to have the same one.
As well as graphs, I'm hoping it makes coffee and bakes cake GrinBiscuit

DonnaLyman · 09/09/2014 20:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TeenAndTween · 09/09/2014 20:46

How times change.

I started secondary in 1979 with a Casio College fx-80.

That saw me all the way through

  • O level maths
  • Maths & further maths A level
  • Degree maths

Still going strong, I used it today when doing my tax form.

DaisyFlowerChain · 09/09/2014 21:30

It's nothing new buying books for college, I had too and that's nearly 20 years ago.

Education is free for college but you still have to buy certain things. They can't supply everything, there's simply not enough money in the budget. CB is still paid to children who attend college and more than covers books etc.

Peaceloveandbiscuits · 09/09/2014 21:33

I sold a scientific calculator in my charity shop for £2.99 this week. It was pink, but still a bargain! Check your local ones out and ask them to give you a ring if they get one in.

TalkinPeace · 09/09/2014 21:40

DD also just started 6th form college
has done really well on 2nd hand books from the on site shop
has also been told to get posh calculator for further maths

I still have my casio fx 81 circa 1982 so I will not begrudge her it

SnowBells · 09/09/2014 21:58

I remember having bought a graphic calculator back in the days when I was at school. Always cost that much.

But surely, you MUST have bought things for your child while he went to school. Like notebooks, folders, etc.? State education merely means you pay no tuition fees. Not that everything is free.

I went to school outside of the UK. My parents had to pay for notebooks, folders, pens and books. They also had to buy things like coloured Polychromos pencils that cost these days would set you back over £100 for a large set. Parents were just expected to pay - I mean… it's your child, right? Who else should pay?

EduCated · 09/09/2014 22:13

In my experience (England) it's unusual for parents to have to buy supplies beyond basic stationery, i.e pens and pencils, and a bog standard scientific calculator. Text books and exercise books usually provided/lent out.

Additional costs often rack up with GCSES subjects like Art, Food Tech and other Design & Tech subjects, though schools will provide basic supplies.