School bag for secondary

[DrCoconut]

What bags do people's year 7s have? DS is not at all bothered about fashion and labels at the moment but I know how vicious secondary school can be for kids who have "wrong" items and I want him to fit in, preferably without it costing a fortune. If he later finds his crowd and decides to just do him and buy something else fine but initially what would be a good neutral sort of option?

Both of mind have just had plain black rucksacks that said vans on it in white lettering

They are very very common!

The bags not the kids haha

That sounds just like my DS who is going into year 7 too.

He's just got a grey under armour bag. I've no idea if it's socially acceptable but as it's a sports brand I'm hoping so. I wanted to make sure it was big enough to fit his stuff in and the information suggested it was pretty waterproof which I think he'll need as he'll be walking to school. It's also got lots of pockets including one at the bottom which he can put trainers in which should be useful. I thought the grey might help him recognise his as the majority definitely seem to be all black.

My kids school is heavily Smiggle based, and quite a few of the Smiggle Giggle which are a bit cheaper I think? Pom poms seem to be a big accessory too.

Obv ideally everyone should just be themselves and ignore what other people think/like but it's a tough balance especially for a shy kid just figuring it all out. Most adults get swept up in keeping up with the Joneses too.
My 2 older girls actually like bucking the trend, the youngest dosent.

Let him pick the bag he wants

Ds had a Slazenger bag for year 7&8 and then had an Adidas bag that he'll have again in y11. The best thing about both of these is the different compartments to really help with the organisation - highly recommend!

Black Nike rucksack. Many kids (including my daughter) have those

It does depend on the school, but black Nike backpacks around here mostly.

I bet boys have an easier ride when it comes to things like “cool” school bags. A sports brand in black is pretty failsafe, I reckon!

Our kids like 'jan sport' . They last for ever.