School is getting so expensive

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

I genuinely don’t know how we can afford this.

We’ve just spent £600 kitting out the 3dc for the new school year. Fine. It can be pricy.

But now we’ve just had an email from school, due to COVID our boys need a school tracksuit to travel in on PE days. That £50 for two.

Now ds1 need Alevel text books at £180 and a recommended scientific calculator is £100.

We are reasonably lowish earners but not low enough to be eligible to claim anything.

How do others manage this? Nearly £1000 is just so much money.

Are they mad? A scientific calculator is nowhere near a hundred quid! Can you get the text books second hand? Does it need to be a specific tracksuit, can they just wear something they already have? My dc are primary age and school are being much more relaxed about the small stuff, what colour trainers are and so on. You're right though, it is expensive, I haven't spent as much as that but as I understand it £200 each for uniform at secondary isn't unusual.

Which scientific calculator is £100?
If you give the brand then I’m sure a MN would help you find a cheaper one.

@InDubiousBattle

Are they mad? A scientific calculator is nowhere near a hundred quid! Can you get the text books second hand? Does it need to be a specific tracksuit, can they just wear something they already have? My dc are primary age and school are being much more relaxed about the small stuff, what colour trainers are and so on. You're right though, it is expensive, I haven't spent as much as that but as I understand it £200 each for uniform at secondary isn't unusual.

They are very very wizzy calculators! My friends DD has just been told she needs one for college £100 on Amazon. They're NOTHING like the standard ones needed for lower levels.

Same with books.

£200 each for the clothes that they will wear for just over half the year isn’t that much. It’s a little under £1 a day.

DSs is doing alevel maths and physics, his calculator was £30. £100 is ridiculous!!

Is this private school OP? We got school uniform from Lidl, £15 for about 3 full sets, school shoes £22 M&S x 3. No where near £600.

You categorically do NOT need to spend £100 on a calculator. If you do, you will also need to buy another calculator for the exam. The £100 ones are not allowable in exam halls.

Check the exam board for the correct spec.

A level text books you can get second hand from Amazon.

CASIO FX-CG50 Graphic Calculator amazon.co.uk/dp/B071S1HRM7/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_Pm-tFbCNP93Q8]]

Schools (state ones) are expected to consider how they can reduce the burden on families. So they should look at how they can minimise the cost. I struggle to imagine how what you describe fulfils that ethos.
What does the calculator do that a twenty quid one doesn’t? And what do they do at the school that requires something that most other schools seem happy to live without?

Look at second hand.

@noblegiraffe is a very helpful maths teacher. She maybe able to help with calculator suggestions.

Second getting second hand text books, double check the calculator spec, is it a logo'd tracksuit?

[quote MJMG2015]CASIO FX-CG50 Graphic Calculator amazon.co.uk/dp/B071S1HRM7/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_Pm-tFbCNP93Q8]][/quote]
We were told the graphing ones aren't allowed in exam halls.

At A level Maths you do need the best calculator you can afford that is legal in exams. You can get cheap ones for £30 but the better one will gain you extra marks. School is expensive. A level text books often cost £30 each and when they go to Uni it gets much more expensive.

My DS did A level Maths and Physics and no way did we pay £100 for a calculator- in fact I don't think we spent more than £10.

The maths calculator I used most of all during my Maths degree cost me £10 in Sainsburys.

The calculator linked above is the recommended one in the school email.

It’s not a private school, no. But you can’t get the uniform for Lidl for £15! The blazers alone are £35. And there’s no way I could get our boys’ shoes for £22. Size 11 and size 8 in men’s sizes that are decent quality cost much more.

I agree it's ridiculously expensive. My only suggestions are:

Look for secondhand for the text books and calculator e.g. ebay, abebooks, local facebook, ask the school if they can email last year's A level parents to see if any have books they want to sell.

Ask if a non-uniform plain tracksuit would be ok. My dc's school has said any dark plain joggers/leggings and school jumper/blazer are ok to wear over PE kit on PE days. It's not really fair if COVID means extra bits of uniform to purchase that you might only need short term.

Definitely speak to the school too. They can sometimes help, and certainly need to be aware that some families struggle with all the costs.

@caringcarer

At A level Maths you do need the best calculator you can afford that is legal in exams. You can get cheap ones for £30 but the better one will gain you extra marks. School is expensive. A level text books often cost £30 each and when they go to Uni it gets much more expensive.

No it won't. They still do the same bloody maths! If it has too many functions that means it helps with the exam paper it won't be allowed to be used.

@pushananas

The maths calculator I used most of all during my Maths degree cost me £10 in Sainsburys.

Dd used the Casio fx82 I used for A level maths 30 years ago!

Ds is doing a physics degree with his £15 calculator.

My son has just finished A level Maths and A Level Further Maths. His school's suggested calculator was Casio FX-991EX - £21.97 from Amazon.

Dd is doing further maths and the required calculator was £75 so £100 is in the ballpark .

Agree with pp that you should contact the school and argue re non uniform tracksuit.
My DCs school were threatening to change the uniform again last year and I would have complained about that had it gone through.

Oh sorry OP, I thought they were little ones! Better start saving for secondary now

So if I do contact the school what do I say? I’m poor can you help?

Dd's and DS's primaryschool have tried to pull this crap with logo joggers. The kids have to come in in their pe kits on pe days so suddenly there are logo joggers available which we told about a week ago....these logo joggers have never existed before now so the school can jog on if they think I'm buying them