Laptops for Yrs 7 & 9

[Thisismynewname123]

School has asked for children to be able to bring laptops into school from September. What should I look for in a laptop, bearing in mind I'll need to buy 2, so preferably up to £500, suitable for school. Windows, not Chrome. (They do each currently have a very cheap one each which has been fine during lockdown, using my laptop when their cheap ones don't work for something, but I'll need to get them something better if they're at school so won't have my laptop as a backup)

Make sure it's got at least 8 ram (mine is 4 and it causes issues) and storage is sufficient for their needs. Weight is an issue - 12inch ideally max. Around £400 will get you something, reconditioned ex office ones with a new battery is another option.

Thanks. I'd rather get new than reconditioned in the hopes that it will last through most of their school years. What are the essential things to consider (assuming I'm just going to do a Currys search using their filters)?

I'd also second getting reconditioned - you can get a really good spec laptop for much less money. We've never done anything else, and the laptops have lasted as well as new ones would - laptops have a finite lifetime anyway. I'd also suggest that a laptop taken to and from school every day is likely not to be treated in the best possible way.

In terms of spec - what will your DC be using them for?

If it's literally just school work - they need to be able to word process/use spreadsheets/create presentations/send emails, access the school's VLE, use any apps that are in common use by the school. I'd hope that school can give you a minimum spec for this?

If they will need it for gaming and/or watching films and/or social media you'll need a different spec. Will they be doing things like editing photos (DD does as part of GCSE art) or creating media presentations (part of Media).

You probably will want a "mid size" screen - something that is easy to transport but not so small that it's hard to use everyday - I'd suggest trying a few different sizes out.