Join in here if your PFB is off to secondary school in September or if you have any advice for thew newbies

[ChippyMinton]

DS is obviously taking it all in his stride and I am quietly fretting investigating the practicalities of high school life. Anyone want to join me?

I have learned over the years that if homework on the computer seems to be taking ages that our broadband needs to experience a malfunction (ie I turn it off). Facebook & Instagram withdrawal speeds up homework no end.
I'm on number 5 (& last) off to senior school and it is a wonderful time of their lives. None of mine has ever worn a coat until they turned 18, skirts will be rolled up, ties worn at half mast, and school bag trends will change weekly. Current PE bag is a plastic one from Top Shop.
But they will mature and learn lots & get the chance to do all sorts of fab things. Wish I could do it all again

No no - no keys unless the school provides them. Bike locks and locker keys with combinations have nothing for them to lose.

I meant copy the school locker key if you get one. In case of temporary misplacement/panic on PE day or to get deposit back after 5 years which of course seems a long time away .

My favourite starting secondary tip came from MN: get a storage box for EVERYTHING school related (books etc) so it all stays in one place. DS has one of these. You could tape a copy of the timetable into the lid.

School bags - apparently rucksacks are social death elsewhere, but pretty much everyone has one at ds's school - possibly because hardly anyone has a locker. I got a Jeep one from TK Maxx and it's still going strong.

Get a gym bag from Sports Direct for a couple of quid, so the rucksack isn't contaminated my filthy PE kit. Loads of standard PE kit stuff is about a tenth of the price at Sports Direct btw. I paid £8 for ONE pair of football socks from the uniform shop, like an arse. They're £1 at SD and just as good

I hide an emergency fiver in a little pocket in ds's bag, in case of bus pass loss or other emergency.

There is no shame in having a cheap PAYG at ds's school as they all understand that smart phones have a tendency to get stolen/lost/broken.

Keys are so expensive to cut, maybe about the same as the deposit amount?

I must be the only parent who has hid no emergency money for DS anywhere (and still won't).
I put DS's school stuff on some designated shelves just outside his room.
Cheap phone is a source of embarrassment at his school, alas. So he doesn't take one at all. . Has swapped favours for calls from friends' phones before.
DS PE bag I picked up in a charity shop for pennies. School bag is a plain black rucksack off of Ebay.

My DS1 has just finished school - going back for revision and exams. I remember that day in September like it was only yesterday and myself and some other mums had a thread running from their first day of secondary school till they went into YR8 .

How much uniform do they need?
Girls can wear skirts of trousers at the school DD1 is going to, how many of each would you experienced secondary school mums recommend?

At the prices that dd's suit is she will have one skirt, two at most! All PE kit has to be school logo.

Yes, ours too Pictures. That's why I was thinking about getting the minimum amounts!
I'm guessing they won't be as messy as they were in primary school, but will be smellier!

I shall get lots of blouses but they are quite pricey too as they arnt normal school shirts but open collar fitted blouses. Much nicer than shirt and tue for girls though.

Dd is in summer dress at the moment so won't ever have to wear a tie again.

Be ware that girls school blouses are often not long enough, girls do lift up their arms a lot at school.

You probably need a couple of skirts. My DD was able to cover her Blazer in paint every time she did art. Fortunately it was a wash in the machine one.

Ours are dry clean only, as are the skirts.

The bhs open neck collar shirts are far better quality than the trutex ones twice the price.

No1 son has managed on 5 shirts, 1 blazer (wash in the machine type), 1 tie, 1 Jumper (cottony material), and 2 pairs of trousers. He has however had to have his trousers replaced 3 times as he has outgrown them during the year!

Gym kit - 2 gym t-shirts, 1 pair of long bottoms and 1 pair of shorts, 1 fleece (barely worn).

He is however reasonably clean and he doesn't smell yet or sweat much.

I intend to start with the same basic kit for No2 son this year - he doesn't smell either yet but is a bit of a messier boy - he can have No1 sons outgrown jumper as a spare but I am hoping to get until the winter out of No1s blazer before I replace it becasue it still fits ok without the jumper and he can go without his jumper for a good few months and maybe he will get his growth spurt done before I shell out for a new blazer :)

The practical solution would be for No2 to have the blazer that No1 has now, but i don't want him to start school in his brothers cast offs - he will use them for the following years but not to start High School in.

I'll maybe get an extra tie too as we did have a bit of a panic during the week when the one and only tie went awol. It was found in the sleeve of the blazer!

We have a collection of ties (about 5) because we bought a spare and then people gave us their old ones. Unfortunately DD now has an honours one and won't be seen in a normal one, and as DS has left...they are waiting for DD2.

I'm thrilled that we have no tie for our uniform :)

Our ties change so they have a different one for 4th and 5th year and a different one again for 6th. I don't want to gather too many of the same one.

PE kit

I bought this gym sack for DD's PE kit:

www.amazon.co.uk/Quadra-senior-gymsac/dp/B00404ZTM6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_2

It hold trainers, PE top, shorts, fleece, long pants and socks. It hardly weighs anything and has been great.

I got all DD's PE kit embroidered with her full name as recommended by the school. The uniform shop did it for a reasonable fee. I would recommend this, as DD managed to pick up someone else's PE top soon after starting YR7 and then someone else picked up her shorts. Both times the items were soon returned as the name was so obvious!

Sorry, you can pay someone to embroider their clothes for you? I must look into this!

The embroidery Cost £3 for one item or £10 for four. Well worth it in my opinion!

Found out today that DS's school does not allow mobile phones. At all. I was quite shocked. Has anyone else had experience of this? DH and I were relying on him having one to keep us informed in case of change of plans, missed buses, wanting a lift home etc.

Chippy, the school I work in doesn't... However a switched off phone in a bag that is not taken out whilst in school is acceptable for the reasons given in ^ your post.

DS1 and 2's school allow them.

Thanks. I was wondering whether he could hide one in the bottom of his bag for emergencies. The staff member said they had banned them on police advice, and also he sounded a bit of disapproving of phones in general .

They are fed up of people buying their eleven year olds iPhones and then complaining to the school when the kids lose them. And of people uploading photos of other kids to Facebook to upset them. A basic phone turned off during school hours is always fine.

Yes, ours also winks at switched-off phones at the bottom of a bag. But anything spotted in lesson times or even at break is confiscated to make a point.

I like it that way. Cuts out the sexting and phone bullying that was rife at a previous school where they were 'allowed to use them for brief, essential calls and subject-relevant photos'. Yeah right.