62 brilliant back to school bargains

There are only a few weeks left of the Summer holidays but don't panic - there's still time to get everything you need for when your kids go back to school. Emma Roberts uncovers 62 back to school bargains that will help you kit out your kids for less.

With the Summer holidays slowly drawing to an end, it’s that time of year again where you have to drag your bored kids around the shopping centre and frantically find suitable school gear for them.

Bring on the arguments about high heels, designer bags and expensive stationery.

So, to ease the stress of back to school buying, check out these fantastic bargains before you head out to the shops.

School Uniforms

It’s no lie that kids grow like bean sprouts that have been doused in a potent Miracle Grow.

It may seem tempting to allow your child to go around in ankle swingers for another year (‘It’s ok Bobby, they’re so in fashion’) but there are loads of cheap places where you can dress your kids for school on a budget.

Have a look at the table below, which shows a selection of what some of the popular shops are offering.

Be aware that the prices are based on the smallest sizes of clothing and may increase if you need bigger sizes.

* Prices can increase depending on what size you buy.

But the deals don’t stop there. Check out the list below for some more uniform bargains.

• Get your hands on high quality leather school shoes from Clarks including this pair for £28.00.
• Very also have a great range of back to school uniforms starting from £2.
• Check out Patched Elephant, a website dedicated to selling second hand school uniforms.
• Sports Direct.com is a fantastic place to pick up kids sports gear, including these P.E shorts from £2.49.
• Priceless Shoes stock great value school shoes, check out this pair of ballerina pumps, reduced to just £4.
• Sainsbury’s and Morrisons also do great deals on their school uniforms.
• Don’t forget highstreet fashion stores for teenagers. New Look have these fashionable belted bootcut trousers for £12.00.
• Peacocks have some great priced jackets, this boys' contrast jacket is available from £12.00.

Books and software

Now your kids look the part, it’s probably a good idea to help boost their brain power with some educational books and software.

Sometimes, it's required that you buy revision guides as part of your child’s curriculum but instead of buying directly from the school, you can get them cheaper from independent outlets. Check out the top deals below.

If your kids are taking their GCSEs next year, then check out The Book Depository for deals on educational text books, including this GCSE chemistry book for £7.97 with free delivery.

For younger kids, they also do this Primary English book for £11.68, saving £5.32 on its RRP.

Asda Entertainment also have some great deals on educational books, such as this GCSE guide to Macbeth for £4.41, saving £4.50 from its RRP.

Booksdirect Bargains, is a great place to check out for cheap children’s text books and don’t forget you can get second hand books from EBay, Amazon and Abebooks.co.uk.

If you’re after educational PC or video game software, check out CEX, where you can get your hands on second hand games for bargain prices, such as Professor Presents Maths-Whizz Challenge for just £1.

GAME also stock a great range of educational PC games, such as Cluefinders-year six-adventures- Empire of plant people for £9.99.

There are also a range of online school swap shops where you can get your hands on school books for free, such as  My School Needs.

Lunch boxes and Bags

Children’s school accessories can sometimes be more expensive than their school uniforms. But fear not, below is a list of frugally priced lunch boxes and bags.

• Wilkinson have a brilliant range of inexpensive lunch boxes, such as this Top Gear Lunch bag for £7.97 and this trendy pink lunch bag set for £6.00.
• WHSmith have up to 75% off on their back to school range, which includes this Me To You Lunch bag reduced from £9.99 to £4.99.
• Argos stock a wide range of fashionable lunch boxes, such as this Tigger Lunch Box set for £9.95.
• Sports Direct is a great place to check out for the latest backpacks at cheap prices, including this Reebok back pack costing £7.
• You can save £7.49 off this Head backpack from WHSmith which now costs just £2.49.
• Barratts also do a fantastic range of school bags, check out this Zip-up backpack for £8.00.

Stationery

Finally, stationery can also rack up a hefty price tag if you go to the wrong retailer. Here are some great stationery buys that won’t upset your wallet.

The main supermarkets are a great place to get hold of this year’s stationery. Asda have a really cheap range of stationary.

Wilkinson are always a sure fire hit when it comes to getting cheap stationery, including scientific calculators for just £4.

WHSmith have up to 75% off their pencil cases at the moment. Check out this filled pencil case, reduced from £12.99 to £4.55.

So before you head out to the frantically busy shops, take a deep breath and make sure you know these fantastic bargains.

Most of them can be bought online, so you won’t even need to set foot out of the house.

More: Back to school money saving tips | 8 tips to get the school of your choice|