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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Laptops

15 replies

Frostytiger87 · 13/09/2022 14:53

My child has just started 6th form and has been told that we need to buy a laptop
my child was keen on an Apple Air but has been told by one of the IT people that their rubbish and have problems and we’re better off buying a Pro
Omg the price of them is too expensive for us we can just about reach to an Air lap top

Can anyone shed some light on the difference between the 2 and what’s your personal recommendation have you had problems with the Air? I can’t justify paying over £1200

OP posts:
rbe78 · 13/09/2022 15:15

I'm sure your teen is keen on a MacBook, isn't everyone! Ours have reconditioned Lenovo Thinkbooks, they're more than sufficient for school work.

XelaM · 13/09/2022 15:19

ThinkPads are really good and my brother who does coding (and now is actually at Apple) had ThinkPads up until recently (before he joined Apple obviously 😄). I also use ThinkPads for work. Can only recommend

yoshiblue · 13/09/2022 15:21

Can you get a Chromebook? My MacBook Pro just died and instead of paying £900 for a new one I got a cracking £200 deal from Costco.

If they just need it for internet and word processing/spreadsheets that's fine

Alarae · 13/09/2022 15:44

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad which I use for work and it's more than enough for generic school work.

Admittedly my work laptop is probably one of the higher range (it's an X1, so the spinny one with a pen) but Lenovo is good across their whole range.

I would recommend stalking HotUKDeals as people will post good laptop deals as they come up. You might also be able to get a discount at Lenovo via their Education Store.

SpoonyMcFace · 13/09/2022 15:59

My dc also has a Lenovo which she used for her A levels and will be taking to university next week.

And a Saturday job to pay for anything else she might be 'keen on'.

I don't think having a thousand pound laptop is that necessary for A levels. Won't he be worried about looking after it?

rbe78 · 13/09/2022 16:02

yoshiblue · 13/09/2022 15:21

Can you get a Chromebook? My MacBook Pro just died and instead of paying £900 for a new one I got a cracking £200 deal from Costco.

If they just need it for internet and word processing/spreadsheets that's fine

Be aware if they use Teams at school that Chromebooks don't work very well with it.

TeenDivided · 13/09/2022 16:04

Do they have any special requirements (eg Art) or is this purely to take notes / write essays /access college portal / zoom ?

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 13/09/2022 17:09

My DD (Y9) uses a laptop for everything and has done since Y6.

We switched her to iPad with attached keyboard and a pen last year and it has been so much better.

Lighter weight, she can photograph notes on the board and then annotate with the pen etc.

It's also vastly cheaper than a decent laptop.

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 13/09/2022 17:11

I have a Pro for work and love it, but I can't see why you would need one for school - unless you are doing Art or Music or something where you want to use serious software... in which case, yes the Pro was worth every penny I paid (and has been going strong for 7 years now).

BadGranny · 13/09/2022 17:30

Most of the software packages that most schools use work best with a Windows laptop. All kids in my school have a school issue laptop until Y11, then have the option of their own machine for sixth form. I spend a ridiculous amount of time during sixth form lessons sorting out IT incompatibility issues with Macs.

Why not ring the school and ask them what they recommend?

PeekAtYou · 13/09/2022 17:32

My son normally uses a Mac but I'm having to buy a PC because some of his subjects require a PC (thankfully doesn't have to be high end but annoying)
Is your son doing some sort of graphics course?

Marina1967 · 13/09/2022 20:53

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Jaxx · 14/09/2022 10:07

We just got a MacBook Air M2 for our son and apart from being a fingerprint magnet (he has the midnight colour) it is great. It is small, light, has great battery life, is really quiet and doesn’t get hot. The one thing it is not good for is gaming - and that was a big reason we went for it in the end 😂.

6th formers qualify for education discount for Apple and atm also get a £120 gift card although even with this it is far from cheap.

From the advice we were given and the reviews I have read, for 6th form type use upgrading to a MacBook Pro would be a waste of money.

zippideedoodaa · 14/09/2022 11:12

One of my DCs has a chromebook as school use all the Google classroom suites. The other has a Microsoft laptop as theirs is a 'Teams' school. They are actively discouraged from having MacBooks ( although some do have them).
It may be worth speaking to the school IT dept.

PAFMO · 14/09/2022 11:14

Check with the school definitely.
I'm about to get a new laptop for my daughter and have been told no Apples, no Chromebooks. They've recommended Lenovo ideapads

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