the least expensive phone that won't get ds laughed out of school?

[noodle71]

Is there a not too expensive PAYG phone that looks cool (ds 10> 11 wants a touchscreen) but doesn't have Internet access as he doesn't need that. I don't mind if it has that functionality that I can turn off during the week. It is for when he starts Senior School next September but he's v sporty and I doubt he'll use it for anything other than texting me to tell me he's late etc..any advice?f

they all have internet access - and all secondary kids use it on the school's free wifis
the school will want them to have to to check website info
£100 for a samsung of some sort will look OK and not get nicked

DD (nearly 11) has my old Samsung Galaxy, and when I wiped my details off it and put her new simcard in, I didn't set it up for mobile internet access, so she can't use it for that. She could probably use wifi if she could sort out the settings herself, but she's not bothered - just uses it to text me and her friends.

If you don't have an old one to pass on, you can get a basic Samsung Galaxy from Carphone Warehouse for about £40 plus top up.

Or lots of places do entry-level models free if you sign up for a contract of about £7.50 a month - but if this is a first phone, you probably don't want to do a contract yet in case it gets lost or broken (you sign up for 2 years and have to pay even if the phone is trashed) - DS got through about three phones in his first 18 months of phone ownership, but has since become much more responsible and his current one has lasted more than two years.

My DDs have phones on my account. They were free, and the extra rental is very inexpensive. They have smart phones, an HTC and a Samsung, and neither has had any issues with their phone being uncool, as far as I am aware. And they do tell me about issues that upset them at school, so I think it is something they would tell me.

Dd has the phone exexepat linked to. She loves it. She only has Internet access at home - they are not allowed on at school.

Does it have to be PAYG? If not, Tesco do a £10 a month deal on a Samsung Galaxy phone, which is what my DS2 (now 12) has. (The phone is free with the deal, iyswim.)

DS's secondary certainly does not have kids using their phones on the school's wi-fi!
Phones are confiscated if they are found swiitched in in school.

And loads of the kids have a v v basic Blackberry on £5 a month contracts, so that they can use BBM amongst themselves.

None of DS's friends, now in Yr 8, have posh phones at all.

Thanks so much everyone. It was the first time I had posted and I found all your comments really useful. I think I'll have a chat with the school at Open Morning and see what their policy is around phone usage. I know some schools have free access to filtered wifi as they all use ipads, internet and apps in class. But I know this isn't the norm and I'm not sure where my son's school sits with this. I don't want to pay for stuff he won't use. The £10 Tesco samsung deal looks promising or I may just give him my old Samsung and upgrade.

Checking the school's policy is an excellent idea. Good luck!

The policy in my two DCs' schools (one yr6, one yr11) has always been that phones should be switched off/on silent, kept in bags and not used while at school. The older one's school is fairly relaxed about them being used at lunchtime, I think.

However, yr11 DS came home this week and said that the school has a new wifi system and they were being encouraged to use their phones to look something up during one of their lessons - maybe this is a new thing with lots of schools?

But I can imagine it could be very open to abuse, with children using their phones in classrooms, claiming to be looking up historical facts but actually checking facebook etc (yes, I know that facebook etc would probably be blocked on wifi, but if the phone has mobile internet they'll use that).