Joining year 7 advice

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My eldest boy is going into secondary school, other than school uniform and pe kit what other essentials do you think I may need to buy which I probably haven't thought of! Thanks in advance

DD has PE bag and boot bag - mainly because the PE bag wouldn't hold everything, but it does mean that the muddy trainers don't get near the rest.

SwimWhizz: agree. Once found a friend of DD's in distress after school (different school, but we were there for DD's swimming lesson). Her dad hadn't turned up to pick her up after an after-school activity, her phone was flat (which was why she hadn't had any message) and the school reception was already shut. Fortunately she'd realised that the swimming reception would have her home number on file, and in the event she bumped into us which solved the problem.

(It's not just kids. Our toddler group started asking for an emergency contact number in case the parent was taken ill. Most people had to look it up. The only use so far was when someone inadvertnently came out without their phone or keys, and couldn't remember their wife's number!)

Thank you very much for the experiences with regard to p.e bags. I might get DS a fairly cheap p.e bag and let him work out what works best for him.

I'd definitely try to check about PE bags first. DS has a separate sports bag because there's no way he'd fit everything in his school bag, but he can just dump it on a bag rack so doesn't have to carry it around all day.

Agree with the PP about a separate zip lock bag per subject. This has been brilliant for DS, as everything for that subject lives in that folder, so when he's packing his bag he just lifts the whole folder into his bag and knows he's got everything. You can get really good toughened zip lock folders from Rymans which last far better than the standard ones. At home they just get put into a couple of magazine files on his desk when he unpacks his bag.

Timetables etc aren't such an issue for us, as everything is done via the school app. We do have a paper one up in his room, but I'm not sure how much he looks at it.

Really good for his bus pass or house keys as no chance of getting lost

Until he leaves the whole bag on the bus...

Ours all started off with an attachable key ring clipped to an inside pocket of their blazers.

@Redorangeyellowgreenblue isn’t there a list ?

Pens, pens and more pens.

I'm in year 11 and honestly you wont believe how quickly pens run out, especially if others forget theirs and ask for one.

If you have a big enough school bag you won't need a PE bag, just put it all in together, however if that doesn't work then a small PE bag so it's not a burden to carry around.

Green pens are quite hard to find sometimes and they get used a LOT

Get a mini timetable for them to keep in their lanyard or pocket

I used to always carry at least £2 - £5 emergency money on me as well

Thanks memorizing my number is a really good idea I hadn't thought of!

My Year 9 pencil case consists of the following from the school list :

• 2 mechanical pencils and refill leads
• 4 black pens ( 1 Lamy and 3 Frixion pens ) plus 2 spare Lamy ink cartridges
• scissors
• 2 blue Frixion pens
• eraser
• Pritt stick
• Lamy ink eraser
• 15 cm ruler
• 30 cm ruler
• maths geometry set
• red pen
• 2 green pens
• 2 regular pencils
• sharpener
• colouring pencils
• highlighters
• Casio calculator

I think most people have sorted the kit list but I'd recommend writing your mobile number on the inside of school bag, PE bag, the back of any bus pass and get personalised dog tag disks with first initial, last name and your number on for any musical instruments and house key.

I’ve a DD who has just finished Year 7, would add on the following:

• Folder/case with lots of plastic dividers in for completed homework sheets

• charged up portable mobile phone charger for his mobile. My DD gets the bus too and if there are delays you don’t want them having a dead phone!

• put Life360 onto his phone so you can track where he is. Buses do get stuck in traffic or he may be coming home late from after school clubs so you’ll want to know where he is.

• deodorant in his sports bag. Often the spots bags get left in lockers for weeks so do encourage him to bring it home more frequently, their kits gets really whiffy!

• bus pass wallet

• screw top water bottle, won’t leak

• DD’s school carry all their books around with them so get him to sort out the night before what books he needs for the next day & what he doesn’t so he doesn’t break his back! We have the timetable on the fridge

• print out of the local bus times so if he misses one he knows what others he can catch and when they run

• if he’s going to be having a toggle to pay for school food as some schools do, the school will provide info on how to put money on there. I get interrupted at work usually about once a month by DD as the toggle is running out so would advise keeping an eye on what ££ is on there! Typically DD spends £3-4 a day.

Good luck to him!

@SjaneS48 Thank you! He does have the 360 app already but a portable charger is most definitely being added to the list! Will also add a decent folder on too

This is great advice, thank you!

Watching with interest for Ds2. Ds1 has suggested most things already.

We have 5 cardboard magazine holders labelled Monday - Friday.

At the end of each day when DDs are packing their bags they put the books not needed for the next day in the relevant folder. So, if their next English lesson is on Wednesday they put the book, dictionary etc in that holder.

They then know that if the book isn't in the holder or in their bag then the teacher has it.

It makes bag packing much easier too.