It's Started Already ...

[bednobs]

am i crazy? my daughter is going to secondary school in september. i have already had about 5-6 different letters from the school about various things the majority of which have irked me in some way. today's letter is about the fact all pupils will be given a laptop to use during their school career. parents are expected to make a substantial contribution towards it. you dont own it, cant use your own it and must bring it home each night, charge it and bring it in fully charged the next day. all required printing is expected to be done at home.
i might feel more kindly disposed to this communication if the last letter wasnt about the school uniform , most of which, including skirts can ONLY be bought from the school uniform shop. i worked out for just 1 of everything they have to have, it costs approx £200 not including shoes and trainers, so stuff it if anything gets dirty. grrrrr

[ToraToraTora]

17:22, I am sympathetic but surely every parent that send a kid to school has the same problem. Just use a bit of common that's all I'm saying.

[Deskdiary]

Not really TTT.

The blazer aside, which was "only" £80, which I get, parents should be able to buy shirts and trousers from M&S or George or Next or wherever, but this option wasn't possible with my son's school. The shirts with the school crest had to come from a single supplier (£50 per shirt x 3), same with the trousers (£60 x 3), a Samurai rugby kit (over £100), with a 14 y/o boy who I swear was raised in a growbag, so it doesn't stop there (I'm 5.11 with size nine feet, my 14 year old is 6.2 already with size 12 feet...and growing. Which I don't mind because he is turning into a fantastic loosehead and is in the Saracens development programme so gets loads of free kit from them, but you get my point.

How do chavs afford this?

[ToraToraTora]

As a Loosehead myself of course I get it!

[ToraToraTora]

When I was a saucepan we had nowt, my mum got a grant for gear for school, I can remember going to the shop and getting all the stuff then we had to leave it there in a parcel ready until the council paid the bill. That was mainly for the things that you couldn't get elsewhere. Things like shirts and trousers we got elsewhere, also craft aprons etc.

[bednobs]

Depends on your definition of chavs I expect. I think there is a grant for pupil premium families, and of course there is a second hand shop the school runs ( which I expect is what we'll be going for) I don't consider myself chavvy (who does) but i am ordinary middle income and I'm going to find it challenging in an era when my fuel Bills have gone up ×3 in the last 2 years, and my mortgage gone up by 50 % near enough while my wages have gone up by less than 5 % your point about growing is a good one. She hasn't reached puberty yet but soon will, so its not like its a one off investment

[Deskdiary]

I’m pivoting TTT, and it’s probably worthy of a different thread, but he’s now getting so big that I think he’s getting to tall to be a loosehead and need to go to second row or, even better Number 8 (which was my position, but we were much smaller back in the day).

He’s turning into a monster and the amount of food he eats is absurd. It costs a bloody fortune.

[ToraToraTora]

I used to play 6 sometimes if we had spare props and even 2 on occasion. He sounds like he's heading towards 2nd Row or 8.

[Hymie]

What do they do with the potentially hundreds of laptops of the students leaving the school each year – loan them to the new intake (for a fee)?

Does the school give any guide as to what ‘a substantial contribution’ for the laptop loan is?

[bednobs]

yes it's 50% (for a laptop you never own and can only use for school stuff AND have to cart back and forth every day)

[webbo3]

\\all required printing is expected to be done at home.//

"Sorry I don't have a printer"..

Printer ink is the most expensive thing on the planet

[naomi24]

Schools should be more considerate. They expect parents to come up with ridiculous amounts of money. Ok, have a blazer with school badge but one pair of grey or black trousers is pretty much like the next, sports kit only needs to be practical - and quite honestly if you watch senior school kids leaving at the end of the day most of them look somewhat dishevelled anyway. Much to the amusement of some I’ve often likened them to rag bags.

[Hymie]

What is the 50% figure, the laptop I’m using cost less than £200 new?

For the fee, do they provide technical support once it goes wrong?