Best bag for secondary school

[Mamoune13]

Hi this is my first message so I hope I am doing this right...my son is starting secondary in September and I am wondering what bag to get him. He will have to travel on the train and walk a fair way so I was thinking of a good rucksack but they all seem to be too narrow for a ring binder for instance. What do people use??? Are we allowed to name brands on this forum? Thanks for any advice!

DS1 and DS2 are currently using North Face Recons. Expensive, but they don't hurt their back even when carrying heavy textbooks.

I would say the minimum requirement is:
At least 30 litre capacity.
Padded shoulder straps.
Waterproof.
Side pocket for water bottle to be carried upright.

Mini backpacks. Loads of different designs and available from skate shops.

That should say Mii, not mini.

Something incredibly cheap that he likes to start with. Then, after he has been there a while, whatever the gang he hangs round with has.

Large Backcare Backpack will carry A4 files and wears well. It's unbelievably anonymous and dull - but there's nothing to actually object to in the design.

DS had a Gola bag in Y7 (plus or instead a sports bag on days when he had to take kit in) and now has an Eastpack rucksack as he cycles every day and can jam what he needs in it in. It still looks like new and I would definitely recommend it.

Will he be doing a visit between now and starting in Sept? I reckon he should have a gander at what the current students are using and go from there.

"but they don't hurt their back even when carrying heavy textbooks."

Textbooks! They don't give out textbooks at school these days. They expect the students to use the internet.

Rucksack style bags seem to be the norm at DD's school, for girls as well as boys. They don't carry A4 ring binders in years 7 - 9 either.

Depends on the school Bunbaker. DD is a tiny 11 year old and carries textbooks, workbooks, dictionaries and A4 folders home everynight.

No ring binders ime, either. Just soft paper notebooks.
Top Shop & Primark were both selling decent canvas ones. That said, I bought DS's off of Ebay for £6 including delivery & it has lasted very well. Just a plain black pack, with single large pocket & one small outside pocket.

yy I teach in secondary and no subject gives out textbooks.

That's as much to do with cost tbh as expectations of using the internet. We do still use textbooks but we only give them out to A-Level students.

You need something that will take half a dozen A5 or maybe A4-ish exercise books and a pencil case holding a broken ruler, a huge rubber, several unsharpened pencils and an exploded pen. Or that sees to be what most of my students carry

Seriously I agree with the suggestion of looking what others carry. Lads at my school mostly have a backpack. No obvious brand favoured (unlike the girls...)

They don't give out textbooks at school these days

DS2 (Y9) and DS2 (Y7) have textbooks for Maths, Latin, History and MFL. The Maths textbook alone weighs 1kg. Plus musical instruments, rugby kit & boots or hockey kit & boots.

DD goes to a comprehensive school in a cash strapped LEA. All the schools are cutting their budgets. I would be very surprised if any high school in our LEA gives out textbooks.

Dd is in year 7 & has a French textbook & dictionary. History textbook, Maths textbook & various English books and lots of other folders etc.

Although it may be that a lot if children at her school don't have Internet access in the evenings.

A mipac

I would wait until you have had the uniform sheet: many school include rules about bags. (ours have to be black, no logo - they sell one through their uniform suppliers)

DD has a French dictionary that she never uses, at school the teacher sets maths questions in class and they use MyMaths for homework. They have never been given textbooks for anything else and we borrow set reading books from the library and use the internet for everything else. The teachers even provide links to appropriate websites for homework.

Never mind the bags, am shocked to hear how many schools don't give out textbooks.
My husband teaches and where he works, he says the Year 7s average 3 textbooks per subject. They have lockers and are advised not to carry too many, due to back issues.

He said he doesn't think the general Internet is useful for most homework and the kids need something very focused to what they are doing, which is why textbooks are useful.
How do they revise for end of year exams if they don't have textbooks?

"How do they revise for end of year exams if they don't have textbooks?"

They use their exercise books, and for maths the MyMaths website. Given that DD's school had an 80% GCSE pass rate including English and maths last year, they must be doing something right.

In my subject (MFL) they note down useful/important info in their books, or I give out vocab sheets/worksheets etc as needed.

No need for every child to have a textbook. Honestly, we couldn't afford it. I have about 30 copies of the yr 7 French book we use (ie refer to now and then) and I teach 120 year 7 French pupils. No way we could fund that many copies and it wouldn't be worth it.

My DC have text books. They also have/had lockable lockers so they only had to bring home books relating to that day's homework. The ring binders didn't start until Lower V (Yr10). Mine were sensible and kept the ring binders at home and carried half a term's work backwards and forwards in cardboard wallets. I gave them that tip, it's what I did in 6th form.

Are all these textbook-providing schools state schools? Or are some private? Just asking because my experience of no textbooks is all at state schools.

Use of the Internet is learnt important and I can see there are lots of great resources there. However, using books is still a vital skill.
I assume that all 6th form students use textbooks still. When I did A levels, for things like humanities subjects, we had probably 8 textbooks per subject. When writing an essay, you would be expected to read in at least 3 different books.