The best back-to-school bargains

The new school year is just around the corner. We've found some of the best bargains.

Parents are spending an average of £224 on each child going back to school this autumn, according to a new report from Santander.

This is a a 27% annual rise and includes items such as a new uniform, books, jacket, gym clothes and sports equipment.

But there are lots of bargains to be had which should cut these costs. Here I’ve rounded up the best offers and discounts to save parents some money.

School costs

At £41.27 per child, a new school uniform is the most expensive cost for parents, followed by £29.33 for school shoes and £25.22 on a winter coat.

Supermarketshave some excellent deals on school uniform goods at the moment, though not all parents can take advantage as some schools will require the uniform to be bought from a specific shop.

The basic school uniform includes items such as a polo t-shirt, jumper, trousers, dress or a skirt, plimsolls and a long-sleeved shirt. This will change depending on the school and the age of the child, but the table below shows how much this basket costs at six different retailers.

Morrisons has come out cheapest when looking at these selected items, at £13 each for a girl or a boy, with Asda in the second spot. 

However, it’s worth looking around and comparing individual items before you buy. At Sainsbury’s and BHS, for example, the basket of goods costs more, but packs of polo and normal shirts include three of each, whereas most of the other retailers only include two.

Second-hand school items

School uniform, sportswear, jackets and even shoes can all be bought second hand. This can save a lot of money; many schools will have their own second-hand shops.

The website schooluniform.co.uk lists second-hand items that are available across the UK. It's a good site to check out whether you want to save a bit of money or get something back for uniform that your children have grown out of.

Websites such as eBay, Freecycle, Freegle and Preloved are also worth visiting for cut-price school items.

Stationery bargains

There are sales at pretty much all the major retailers now, giving parents a lot of options when looking to save money. WHSmith, for example, has a 75% sale on school books, and a three-for-two offer on school essentials. It's also knocked off 25% on WHSmith Own Brand education books, and notebooks have a discount of up to half price.

Paperchase has a three-for-two mix and match offer on its stationery and Woolworths has cut the price of school clothes by 25%.

Stationery is also reduced by 25% at Tesco, though certain items are cheaper at Sainsbury's such as a packs of retractable gel pens, Bic Cristal ballpens and Berol Handwriting pens which are all half price. The supermarket has also cut the price of Disney Monsters and Hello Kitty lunch bags to £6.75, from £9. 

Staples has cut a third off its back-to-school range and free delivery is available on items of more than £30.

How to save more money on back-to-school items

When stocking up on new school term items you can save even more money by using a cashback website.These sites have tracked links to all sorts of retailers and will pay you a percentage of your purchase back for going via them. You can find out more in our article: The top cashback websites

Quidco

• Take an extra 10% off items at WHSmith. This is a faster-paying merchant, which means you’ll get the money paid sooner. You can also get free delivery on items of more than £15.
• M&S has a 3% cashback deal, and is a faster paying retailer.
• Debenhams is also included with a 3% cashback rate.
• For electronic goods, Dell has a 5% cashback rate and is also faster paying.
• Tesco is offering 5% on all clothes bought online.
• At Book People you can get 10% cashback if you’re a new customer.
• There’s 6% available at Staples on all purchases, and it pays out faster.

TopCashback

• The School Uniform Shop is paying out 7.35% cashback.
• WHSmith is paying a faster rate of 7.35% on stationery 5.25% on diaries, calendars and notebooks and 5.25% on books.
• Waterstones has a 4.2% cashback offer on online purchases and pays at a faster rate.
• There’s 3.15% cashback available at Debenhams.
• Florence & Fred at Tesco has a 6.3% cashback rate and £5 off when you spent £25 or more (before 28th August).
• M&S is offering 3.15% cashback.

More on shopping:

How to save money on your food shopping

How to slash your supermarket delivery costs

Ukash: how to pay with cash when shopping online

The danger of 'buy now, pay later' shopping

The true cost of not shopping around for car and home insurance