Your Comprehensive Back-To-School Checklist

Why do I need a back-to-school checklist?

Let’s face it...the back-to-school start creeps up quicker than you think! One minute you're enjoying lazy summer mornings in August, the next you’re scrambling for a clean uniform, realising you don't have a lunchbox, the right pencil case (who knew there was a right or wrong pencil case!) or even enough utensils to move into Uni accomodation with!

No matter the age, whether your child is starting primary school or packing up boxes for uni, a checklist takes the stress out of it all. It helps you stay on top of the essentials, avoid last-minute spending, and ensures nothing slips through the cracks. Even better, a checklist can help you save a ton of money! By knowing exactly what you need (and what you don’t), you can plan ahead, shop smarter, and have the time to take advantage of seasonal sales. So no panic-buying overpriced items that will get used once then never again. Just organised, budget-friendly prep that helps you and your bank balance breathe easy.

It's no secret that the dreaded back-to-school shopping can be expensive. In fact, according to a 2024 study, 79% of parents asked said that they would be willing to use a platform to sell old school supplies their children no longer needed, in the interest of saving money.

I've done detailed research into back-to-school supplies, looking into everything that parents may need to source for school children of all ages, starting with nursery and reception years, running all the way up to University. You'll find everything you need to know to stay prepared for September, minimise any back-to-school anxiety you or your kids may be feeling, and by factoring in the back-to-school sales you can enjoy some great savings in the process!

Plus, you can also check out our Back To School category page where you'll find lots of deals and offers to make your money go further.

What BTS items are consumers spending the most money on?

Before we get into actual checklists, let's breakdown the main items that UK shoppers, mostly parents and grandparents of school children are actually spending their money on these days. This will give an idea into some of the most popular (and perhaps least popular) products, from stationary to uniforms and more, so you have an insight on what to add to your shopping list, and what to avoid!

According to a 2024 YouGov survey, the primary categories for back-to-school shopping consisted of the following:

Let's break the results down. So we can see that school uniforms and school shoes are neck-and neck, these items appear to take priority for the back-to-school shop, with 67% and 66% of parents confirming they bought these items respectively. In third place, we have stationary coming in at 58%, with lunch-boxes, textbooks and electronic devices receiving the least amount of attention during the back-to-school shopping period. However, we can assume that this is because children tend to keep/reuse their lunch-boxes throughout their school years (and they don't have to worry about physically growing out of them the same way they do school shoes) and most textbooks are provided by schools anyways.

School Uniform & Shoes

So let's revisit those top two categories in more detail. It's no secret that school uniforms can be a huge drain on the bank balance, especially as primary school children tend to outgrow their clothes and shoes at an incredibly fast rate.

I dug a little deeper into the statistics, and found a survey by The Children's Society stating that parents with children in UK public schools spent an average of £345 per school year on school uniforms for primary school children, and £315 per year on secondary school children. The survey was conducted across 1000 parents, for the most accurate findings. To follow up, parents claimed these costs were up to three times as much as they thought consituted a reasonable annual cost to spend on school uniforms!

One reason school uniforms can be so expensive, is because many schools determine their uniforms to be branded with their school logo, often on polo shirts and blazers which can typically only be bought on school property itself. The same report by The Children's Society, found that 66% of parents with children in secondary school reported needing to purchase two or more items from a designated supplier. Among primary school parents, 52% faced the same requirement from a particular shop. On the other hand, only 18% of secondary school parents and 24% of primary school parents were able to buy their child’s full uniform from any retailer of their choice.

An interesting article by Trutex lists all the ways you can save money on school blazers, including how and where to make savvy swaps in order to keep the costs down. The article states that a school blazer can realistically cost anywhere between £25 and £70 per piece, and whilst a blazer on the cheaper side can be cost-effective in the short term, this can actually have hidden costs in the long-run.

See the table below which summarises the pros and cons of buying both expensive and low-cost school uniforms:

The good news is that there are definitely ways to save on school uniform shopping, including using a Savoo discount code to save money on your next order! Save big by using a Next discount code, M&S discount code and Asda George discount code.

This great article by Which? suggests more tips and tricks on saving money on school uniforms, including recent deals and real life saving examples you can expect at each merchant, like Morrisons, Sainsburies, Tesco and more!

Stationary

Let's move onto stationary now. This may seem overwhelming no matter what age your child is, because there are so many things to account for. Pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers, rubbers, pencil sharpeners etc...and don't forget those easily-missed maths items like protractors, compasses, and scientific calculators! (Childhood memory unlocked!) WHSmith will be your best friend when it comes to stationary shopping, they even have a dedicated 'Back To School' section on their website, where you can find everything you need referenced on the list below, all in one place! Don't forget to use a WHSmith discount code right here from Savoo to unlock great savings.

To make things easier, I've summarised all the stationary your child may need for primary school, secondary school and University respectively, including what prices you can expect to pay.

Laptops

As you can see, the basic stationary checklist above for University students is a lot less than both primary and secondary schools. This is mostly due to the fact that uni students typically rely on learning, studying and typing notes on laptops during lectures, seminars, and independent study, meaning there is less need for stationary basics!

In fact, this article claims that students spend a whopping 40 hours a week on their laptops, with two-thirds of students asked admitting they couldn't live without their laptops! UCAS have a great article on how to choose the right laptop for university, with lots of tips and tricks on what to consider, and what to avoid when making your decision. Be sure to check out our range of Computers and Laptop discount codes, alongside Argos discount codes and Curry discount codes where you can save big on your purchase!

Below you will find a comprehensive back-to-school checklist for both primary school and secondary-school use. This is because the majority of items on the checklist are requirements across both types of schools. Naturally, some items may be dependent on what the school offers, for example swimming lessons may not be a requirement across some schools in the UK, but obligatory in others. So, in the interest of creating as comprehensive a checklist as possible, I have included a list of everything you may need to consider for primary and secondary school education, as well as how many pairs you should expect to buy to save you any unexpected surprises later down the line.

University Years

Below you will find three separate checklists for University, compartmentalised by room to inspire your shopping trip, when the time comes! Don't forget to use an Ikea discount code to unlock great savings on your shop. Plus, Urban Outfitters have a great guide to student halls article featured on their website, where they offer tips and tricks of what to expect living in halls, must-have items that you may have forgotten, and if you scroll down to the very bottom of the page you also find a PDF University Checklist, where everything you may need will be in one place.

There's always more you can add to this list, dependent on what you like to cook and what your halls / accomodation already provides. If possible, try to find out if your accomodation has a shared hoover, broom or dustpan and brush. This will make it easier knowing exactly what you need, and what to avoid buying. A lot of student halls do have a communal hoover in their flats, but this may not always be the case, so it's important to check wherever possible! Additional items include cleaning products, laundry detergent, extra cushions and blankets for the bedroom, desk lamps if your halls don't provide one, and even desk storage/stationary like plastic wallets and trays to store documents, and sticky notes. However, if you accidentally forget to include any of the above during your back-to-school shop, then these last-minute bits and bobs can always be bought once you arrive at University.

I spoke to my colleague and Student Money-Saving Editor, Persia-Lili Moharerr who offers her top tips on how to money on packing for university.

"I started my first year of Uni 9 years ago, yet I distinctly remember how stressful the packing situation was! I seemed to have accumulated more stuff than humanly possible, but still successfully jam-packed it all into the car! My university shopping started in early August and occured over multiple trips. One day was spent in Ikea getting everything I needed for halls, and then another was spent shopping for towels, toiletries etc. I would definitely recommend starting to collate things as early as you can, as you will always discover more things you need or may have accidentally forgotten to consider. Also, don't underestimate the power of the blue Ikea carrier bags, which is basically how I transported everything to halls in the first place!"