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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

Choking on costs fo sxith form education

127 replies

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 17:31

So DS1 has come home from college today with a book list. Books are marked essential or recommended.

The essential books alone amount to £150 just for year 1!!

I teach English and we do always ask students to buy set texts so they can annotate them - but his list includes £35 text books. This is in addition to the £180 per term bus fares.

Is this in line with everyone's experiences of a 21st century education?

OP posts:

MsAwesomeDragon · 07/09/2017 19:15

I have only spent £20 on a calculator for dd1, and she's bought her own stationery, including paper.

My school provides textbooks if they need them, but prefer students to have their own set texts so they can annotate them for revision. We do ask them to get a better calculator if they're doing maths, but that's £18.50, so not a huge expense like a lot of you seem to have.

RedastheRose · 07/09/2017 19:48

Laniakea your dc can buy a student railcard which saves 30%

Choking on costs fo sxith form education

Ta1kinPeece · 07/09/2017 20:03

redastherose
my kids both have rail cards
but as we live nowhere near a train station, have to use the bus
and its £670 a year for the student pass for one company
(It does not cover the other four bus companies that operate round here)

PettsWoodParadise · 07/09/2017 20:07

Problem with the student railcard (as I understand it) is that it doesn't do discounts on season tickets and minimum fare of travelling between 4.30am and 10am is £12.00 so is generally great for ad-hoc tickets and off peak but not for regular peak travel.

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:10

Ummm.... we do realise not everyone lives on a trainline, don't we??

As luck would have it , we have a bus stop near us which goes within a 5 min walk of the sixth form college. Otherwise we'd be truly buggered.

OP posts:

LadyLance · 07/09/2017 20:13

As others have said, it may well get worse at uni. It's a shame this year no second hand options are available, but as others have said, you can at least get some money back next year.

I do think that given sixth formers are now considered to be in compulsory education, their travel costs should be the same as 11-15yo, but obviously using public transport this is often not the case. Living rurally especially there is often no walkable option for sixth form.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/09/2017 20:16

I agree Lady. As for university, that's fast becoming only for the wealthy.

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:20

It's a sign of the times, sadly....

OP posts:

Ttbb · 07/09/2017 20:33

Most students buy these secondhand from past students or amazon.

bbpp · 07/09/2017 20:39

During my entire time at sixth form I never spent more than £20 on books (and they were for English Lit). Clearly attended a shite one?

Danglingmod · 07/09/2017 20:40

They're new specs! There are no old textbooks!

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:41

I was genuinely picturing spectacles there

OP posts:

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:42

bbpp I think I spent £0!

I don't think students at the school I teach at fork out very much but I may be wrong. We spend a fortune on illegal photocopying though!!

OP posts:

bbpp · 07/09/2017 20:44

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/09/2017 20:46

It was my plan to buy second hand textbooks but that doesn't sound viable now. Arrghh.

Tw1nsetAndPearls · 07/09/2017 20:50

The cost of books for these new A levels is scandalous. Textbooks for the A Level I am teaching come to between £70 and £80 a student. Cuts to education means that most departments just can't afford it. I have bid for extra money from charities and various organisations to find it as I passionately feel education should be free but my A level group is quite small.

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:53

We have a special projects fund at school. Just gave English £1000 for new textbooks for a school with 800 GCSE students. This will buy 30 textbooks ...

OP posts:

SomeOtherFuckers · 07/09/2017 20:54

I never had to buy any books at 6f ... although uni set me back min £300 a year second hand

pengymum · 07/09/2017 20:54

Can't you get books from the local library?

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 20:54

lost it's just caveat emptor really : check if it's for new spectacles

OP posts:

ChocolateWombat · 07/09/2017 20:55

I would definitely look on Amazon for the books you need. They have second hand suppliers for a huge number of books even those that are recently published....and they might not all be recently published. I would think you will be able to save something that way, even if not loads. Amazon probably better than eBay for secondhand book suppliers.

Is it possible for some of the books to be bought one between two and the kids to share/photocopy bits as needed?

I think the reality is that education increasingly does cost parents these days. School cuts mean funds are just not there. Schools generally are careful to limit what they ask parents to get to the least they can get away with and still cover the course well and are mindful of the cost.....but to do it without asking for parents to buy anything at all isn't going to result in the best educational outcomes.

Boring, but can child have Amazon/book tokens for their birthday this year, ready to use towards books for following year? Grandparents are sometimes happy to buy a school book or even buy them all and like to help out. Realise this isn't an option at all for everyone, but might be for some.

SomeOtherFuckers · 07/09/2017 20:55

Also anyone looking for 2nd hand books - try Abebooks , they focus on academic books

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 07/09/2017 21:01

I'm not sure libraries would loan books out for such a long time period. Book tokens as Christmas gifts from relatives is a good idea though.
The textbooks are shockingly expensive. £60 for the recommended Economics book. what a rip off!

Original poster

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 21:01

I think they use the books in lessons is the point so they need their own really.

I agree about second hand on Amazon but one has to beware delivery costs then. I have Prime and buying stuff rom other sellers means the second hand costs for postage mount up to and beyond new books from Prime.

Wordery.com are good as well.

OP posts:

Ta1kinPeece · 07/09/2017 21:02

I do wish the people recommending amazon and abe books and stuff
THEY ARE NEW BOOKS
A levels have changed in the last year or two
from modular to linear
its been quite a big news story

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