school bags - which one???

[Lostaussie]

We are about to relocate to London from Australia and DD1 and DD2 will be starting a new school (years 7 and 9). We have always used the designated school bag here but the school in London allows them to use whatever they want. I know it sounds trivial but fitting in is so important for teens/pre teens so can anybody give me some suggestions as to what style (and brand?) bag to get them? TIA

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Hello, this thread is a little old now and some of the links are out of date. Take a look at this handy page for a round up of the best backpacks, chosen by Mumsnetters.

Dd just uses a backpack. At the moment it's a grey kipling one. Hype seems popular at her school

Dd has a mipac backpack.

It can vary from school to school, but all of DD's friends (suburb on edge of London) have backpacks. Mi Pac & Hype are popular brands.

This sort of thing.

Dd has a hype backpac.

www.amazon.co.uk/Hype-Backpack-Bags-Rucksack-Design/dp/B01FR2PCIU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469641177&sr=8-2&keywords=hype+backpack

Lostaussie It's a valid question. Perhaps you can send them with their old ones for the first few days then set aside time to go shopping for new ones after they've seen what others have and what they think would be best? Unless there's some way that you or they can visit the school before they start (this is assuming they're starting mid-term).

Good luck with the whole move!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it.

Normally round here it's vans,superdry(lots of these),hype and maybe a few Nike and adidas ones

Eastpak and Roxy at our school (for girls).

Older girls (Yr. 11 +) have started to favour leather backpacks recently.

A nice old-fashioned kanken will see DDs through school and the next 20-30 years.

Dd has a Hype backpack. I've noticed older boys with the same one. As they get older some girls seem to go with oversized handbags but dd not keen yet.

www.cladishsports.co.uk/back-care-navy-backpack/

The navy 'back care' from Cladish was a God sent in my nieces' opinion. £29.99 but Very spacious, pockets inside for valuables, another large outside pocket to store a wet coat, side pockets for water bottle, purse/Zip card etc. Small pocket for money and keys. Overall very sturdy, the back side has a lovely soft bumpy fabric keeping child's back straight & comfortable.

At dad's slightly boho north London comp, mi-pacs are popular. They're practical as well, which is a bonus.

It will vary according to the area and the type of school, so might be worth naming the school to see if anyone can be more specific.

DD has a super dry bag as do quite a few at her school

Fjall Raven Kanken backpacks are the happening bag to have at the middle school across the road from me.

Hype and Mi-Pac at dds school. Apparently the lining of the Hype bags shreds though so dd is choosing another Mi-Pac (her 3rd in 3 years)

My dd decided in yr7 to have one of those over sized handbags-BIG MISTAKE.

She hadn't took into account the amount of school work she'd be carrying or how awkward it was to carry. Not to mention juggling it with her pe kit when she needed it two days a week.

Stick to a backpack with good sturdy straps & plenty of room for their equipment.

The girls here all have PINK, the boys have Hype and Vans

Thanks for all the responses - lots of variety! I won't name the school but it's an independent school near Richmond. Does this help narrow down choices?

If it's either of the two girls' schools I'm thinking of then something like a mipac would be fine - good luck with the move

Marking place as dd will be going into Year 7 and needs to choose a bag soon. She likes the oversized handbag satchel types but she'll have quite a long walk to school and I feel that a rucksack would be more practical!

Dd1 has a mipac.