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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

DD1 7 off to secondary in Sep, school bags

70 replies

MegGriffin · 03/06/2011 15:24

She is my first to go and I was wondering whether to get a back pack, large handbag or messenger bag. She want's a back pack for comfort but does not want to look 'uncool'. What do your DDs use please?

OP posts:

Madsometimes · 05/06/2011 08:20

Does anyone else think that schools should make children use a uniform bag? Why should 11 year old children be stressing about the right handbag?

bigTillyMint · 05/06/2011 09:24

IME they don't "stress", it's just that they want you to buy them whatever they perceive to be the current most popular bag. I guess it's their one way of expressing their individuality / membership of a "tribe"!

TheOriginalNutcracker · 05/06/2011 09:30

Around here it is the retro style addidas bags or similar for the boys and huge handbags (preferably PB ones) for the girls, plus a carrier bag from an 'in' shop for pe kit.

Dd1 (13) has more handbags than I do and changes them depending on how much stuff she has to take.

Occasionally they use those cotton bags too, but only from River Island etc, never Primark or similar.

ragged · 05/06/2011 11:26

We all had backpacks, 1980s American high school. What did British school girls have in the 1980s?

bruffin · 05/06/2011 13:32

I wasn't in school in the 80s in the 70s I think I had shopping type bags. We were worried about what pens we had. Erasible pens were very fashionable.

cat64 · 05/06/2011 14:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 05/06/2011 15:42

I teach at a school where every pupil must have the 'issued' school bag. I think it's bonkers, quite frankly. It's like some schools/people fear the idea of pupils being individual in any way. And yes - it causes chaos at the end of exams etc.

In the 80s, we had satchels from The Army Stores. Mine was red and I drew a huge dragon on one side of it and wrote band names/lyrics all over the rest of it!

bigTillyMint · 05/06/2011 17:52

ColonelBrandon, mine was blue with my fav bands painted / drawn on it

ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 05/06/2011 18:21

Which bands? Which year? Mine were The Smiths, The Cure and The Damned in 1987!

bigTillyMint · 05/06/2011 18:45

Well my bag was more 1980 or maybe even before
The Ramones were on it, and Blondie, the Police and of course, Elvis Costello

There were probably others too.

The Smiths would deffo have been on it in 1987 though

Original poster

MegGriffin · 05/06/2011 19:15

I had one of those Army shoulder bags too. Mine was khaki and I wrote all over it with things like 'Kaz and Sez' rule and band names - Ultravox, Duran Duran etc..

OP posts:

ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 05/06/2011 20:13

Oh God - I LOVED Ultravox too! Elvis C - good call.

Tigerstripes · 09/06/2011 21:12

I work in a school and ours have school pe bags (so big they are about the size of a year 7), and have large handbags for the other stuff which they leave in their form rooms. The year 7s and 8s then also have tiny across-body black 'valuables bags', which they carry round all day. Not prescribed, just seems to be the 'thing'.

MK1993 · 10/06/2011 00:02

I'm in 6th form now and I've had various versions of the exact same Jansport backpack since Year 7. They've always served me well
I have tried messenger bags/handbaggy type things, but by now it's impossible with the sheer weight of the books. Lots of my friends have Cath Kidston or Paul's Boutique bags, and admit they're horrificly impractical. Look good though.
Most people seem to have ROXY/Animal bags, which are good, but too expensive IMO.
THIS is what I have. Practical and about a million different colour choices.

TheMitfordsMaid · 10/06/2011 00:39

When I was at primary school in the 80s we nearly all had the Midland Bank black bag, together with the blue pencil case and dictionary. It was a nightmare finding the right bag in the cloakroom.

When we went up to the senior school in the 80s we all had rucsacks, worn on one shoulder only. I had a hot pink Saloman ski one. Later there was a fashion for useless fabric bags called Jacpacs, which were made from seemingly scrap fabrics.

I feel old.

quirrelquarrel · 10/06/2011 18:53

Satchels are very in fashion now. Or basically be somewhere where all the schoolkids are streaming out at 3:30 and take note (and look inconspicuous!). Then take her to Topshop and let her pick out a bag and then faint at the price.

Good backpack makes- Vans, Roxy (if she really wants to be cool, a Roxy bag is more for Year 7/8), Animal.

bigTillyMint · 10/06/2011 19:09

Make sure you stand outside the exact school though - even nearby schools can have quite different bag fashions

kittyspolitti · 10/06/2011 19:24

Ds (yr 7) has an Army surplus bag in khaki! He thinks it's the coolest thing ever. No-one else has one. All the boys have the vinyl sports bags here, Adidas, Dunlop, Gola, etc. Girls have big vinyl handbags or messenger bags. No rucksacks at all.

quirrelquarrel · 10/06/2011 19:26

Yes, get your reputation as a caring parent properly established :o

Cath Kidston bags are sturdily made, I think- fashionable in every year. Personally I don't like them, and it seems like everyone's got one, but they wouldn't be the worst choice for a schoolbag...especially since it's like you become a different person by halfway through Y7 and need a new bag, new shoes, new pencilcase!

Decorhate · 11/06/2011 07:48

Ooh I used to have an army surplus bag for my schoolbag!

My dd currently has a Gola messenger bag. I snurked when she wanted one because I had one in the 70s and hated it because no-one at school had heard of Gola then & thought it was "cola" wrongly spelled....

I got her a cheap bag when she first started secondary until she worked out what was deemed "cool" - she got a Roxy backpack to replace it - and acknowledged that it was better for her back.

Don't know if the Roxy bags are still acceptable? She is currently eyeing up replacement messenger bags. We saw some cool Vespa ones when we were on hols.

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