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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Dim questions about what new pupils need

14 replies

Pruneurs · 31/07/2009 14:50

OK I am sorted for school uniform.

What else do I need to get?
Kit bag?
Pencil case? What goes in it? I had a stationery fetish when I was 5 but ds doesn't care. What will he need?
Schoolbag? WHAT SORT??????

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crokky · 31/07/2009 14:51

Does your school have a regulation bookbag? That's what they use as a schoolbag I think.

Haylstones · 31/07/2009 14:51

Dd started last year and didn't need stationery or a school bag- book bag, PE kit, lunch box, drinks bottle should be plenty.

crokky · 31/07/2009 14:51

And I think they supply the stationery at that age.

Original poster

Pruneurs · 31/07/2009 14:53

Thank you
It is so weird, if I turn up at things without the proper gear, I don't care...it's different when you're a child, though - I have some horrible memories of not having something, or having the wrong thing [scarred]
Yet looking back, none of it mattered!

OP posts:

bigstripeytiger · 31/07/2009 14:59

At my DDs school the children need a school bag, gym bag (and kit, inc plimsoles). Also a water bottle.
They dont need to bring in pencils or a pencil case, but most of them like to.

Do you know any parents who have children at the school? You could ask them.

primarymum · 31/07/2009 16:27

You can usually get book bags and gym bags from the school. Those, together with uniform and PE kit, are the only things you should need! You might want a lunch box and water bottle if your child is having a packed lunch, some schools provide a water bottle to drink in the class ( it depends on the school) Although pencil cases can be nice, they can also be a nightmare-think 15 4 year old girls all with pink pencil cases and pencils and the arguments and hysterics that can ensue! oh, and all the boys have "army" pencil sets and constantly fight over who has which pencil sharpener. Try to leave these until they are older ( about 21 is probably just the right age )

hocuspontas · 31/07/2009 16:42

Unless this is a private school with it's own list of essentials I would sent him in with nothing on the first day except a water bottle - and be prepared to take that home again if they supply them in school. Obviously lunch box if necessary, Otherwise at the end of the day ask about bags, PE kit and bag, overall, indoor shoes and stationery. Does the prospectus not say anything. Look around what others are bringing in. But don't fret about the first day or even the first week.

GrungeBlobPrimpants · 31/07/2009 16:58

Just the uniform and sports kit & plimsolls

Pencil cases and pencils will just get lost in first day - when my dd started she was given 5 separate pencil cases & pen/pencil sets from friends & family. She did not need a single one of them

Seona1973 · 31/07/2009 19:44

DD had a school bag and lunch bag (bought from the supermarket - you can also buy the logo-ed schoolbag but we didnt bother with it). She needed plimsoll shoes as they change in and out of them every day i.e. they change out of their walking shoes and into plimsolls and then have to change back out of them for playtime, lunchtime and hometime.

I did get a pencil case and pencils for her but she didnt need them as the school provided pencils, whiteboard markers, etc.

Our school doesnt use a book bag so check whether yours does or not.

Sidge · 31/07/2009 19:48

My DD2 started reception last September and didn't need anything. They provided bookbags and waterbottles. We just pitched up in school uniform with PE kit in a bag.

Some schools ask you to buy bookbags (DD1s did) but as far as I know in Reception they don't need pencils etc as it's all provided.

IdrisTheDragon · 31/07/2009 19:51

At DS's school they have a school book bag and they need a (named) water bottle. There are school PE bags but it doesn't matter if you have that one or not. They don't need to take any stationery.

eandh · 31/07/2009 19:57

dd1 starts in september she has

School book bag

Lunch bag/bottle

PE Kit (in a lovely bag made by my Mum and a rather bizarres set of pe kit including leotard , trackie bottoms, cycling short, tshirt)

She was given a blank drawing book when she went for her taster days to complete with her summer holiday activities (got tickets from days out, she has done a few drawings in it, stuck some photos in etc)

School will give her a empty water bottle on her first day she has to take thi sin every day empty and comes home to be washed etc (not sure if its used for playtime ot during the day)

applepudding · 31/07/2009 23:30

We had to provide lunch bag/drink; PE kit (shorts, top, pumps) in bag; plus optional clear bottle for drinking water in class.

School provided book bag which we had to pay for. Most of the children in DS's class had been in the school nursery and already had the book bag so we had to ask for this.

All stationery/pens provided.

Children generally started taking their own pencil cases in during Y1.

blithedance · 31/07/2009 23:50

Just a thought - will they go swimming? I had to hurriedly name DS's swimming trunks and a towel, and find yet another kitbag, when the swimming trips started.

They will probably bring home folders and work which is A4 size so you need a bookbag of some kind which is that size (that's why school usually provide them).

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