Money News

“Back to school” spending set to reach £736m

By Martin Fagan - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Parents will spend an average of £77 per child on basics but the contents of school bags will be worth £212.

With the start of the new school year less than a fortnight away, parents are set to spend a collective £736million on “back to school” basics including uniforms, stationery, sportswear and school books, according to the Cost of a Child study from protection specialist LV=.

The “back to school” costs are £63 for infants, compared to £67 for junior school, and rise to £81 per child for secondary school kids. This, said LV=, equates to an average family cost of £125, or £77 per child.

The total cost of “back to school” spending has increased by £27million over the last 12 months from £709million in 2010. And 57% of parents said they felt their finances squeezed by spending on back to school items.

"At first glance, spending £77 to send your child back to school may not seem excessive and preparing children for their return to school is such a small part of the expense of raising a family, but it's easy for these costs to mount up,” said Mark Jones, head of protection at LV=.

“This is why it is important that parents try and look beyond the short term and ensure they have suitable budgets and long term financial plans in place.”

Another survey about the new school year undertaken by insurer MORE TH>N discovered the average value of the contents of a secondary school child’s bag was £212.

MORE TH>N’s findings revealed 65% of children aged 11-14 carry a mobile phone to school and, once parents factor in stationery, sports kit and grooming products, the contents of a school bag is likely to be worth £212.

For at least one in ten school children, expensive technology devices such as gaming consoles, iPads and netbooks are also considered school bag essentials.

But the high costs don’t stop when the term starts, as the average secondary school child loses £51 worth of kit from their bag over the course of a year. MORE TH>N says 24% of parents will be forced to pay out a further £112 replacing items lost from the school bag - most frequently, mobile phones.