School stationery supplies without breaking the bank.

The last few blog post all have one common reoccurring topic - School Supplies.

From stationery to packed lunch snacks, which I guess just echos the fact  it is the last week of the summer school holidays and I've been manically thinking of all the things the children want and the essential things they really do need for their return to school.

Shopping for all the school supplies can quickly mount up, after a shopping trip for school uniform the other day my bank balance is not looking good, and I still need to tackle the shoe shop!

Jake is starting senior school in September, and so he seems to need a never ending list of things which I've never really had to worry about until now.

Remembering carting round rucksacks full to bursting with stationery, folders, notebooks, dictionary's and calculators in my own secondary school days, I have been struggling to make sure that we have everything Jake needs but I am also conscious of the fact that there were many bits and pieces which in fairness got left at the bottom of my bag, or lost within the first year. So I don't want to break the bank on things which Jake just simply won't use, will break or lose.

So how do you ensure your child has got what they need without having to spend a small fortune on the equipment?

Poundland may just have the answer, and I was excited to go and see what my local store had on offer.

I was really pleased to find the huge selection of things in store everything from felt tip pens to note pads and letter racks, all at unbelievably great value.

With my budget tight after the huge spend on uniform, coats and shoes its great to find somewhere I could buy all the stationery we needed at such a low price.


For the girls there are fun and funky leopard print themed stationery with A4 ring binders, Large Pencil cases, and mixed stationery sets.


The items quality was pleasingly much better than I have found in previous years,and in other budget stores. The A4 binder comes with lined paper, and cardboard coloured dividers, a great value item perfect for any student.


Another great item we loved was the mixed stationery set which came in the same funky leopard print design as the A4 ring binder, and notebooks. Included in the set there really is everything you need all for just £1. The 15cm ruler, eraser and pencil sharper all great quality, the eraser clear and clean not leaving horrible smudgy marks. The 4 pencils sharpened much better than I had expected and overall I think this is a great value set for school work.

Chloe also loved the set of 4 mini notepads, each a handy size, approx 10cm tall x 6cm wide perfect for keeping in your handbag, or on the kitchen sideboard to jot down all those important things to remember. Each mini book has good quality bright white plain paper.

For Anyone who is not such a fan of pink, there was plenty of other colour designs to choose from, including lots of character themed products such as moshi monsters and bin weevils, It is difficult when your children hit senior school however, not wanting to appear babyish a more neutral design is often favourite, we liked the simple blue striped range which includes a great barrel pencil case priced just £1 this is alot cheaper than  other stores, a good non offencive pattern perfect for even the most cool teen.

The quality of the pencil case is good and the material has a wipe clean surface which feels strong enough to withstand daily use, it is a great size and easily fits in a 15cm ruler and plenty of pens and pencils.

The A4 notepad also is great quality with 160 pages, the paper is bright white and both pens and pencils write on it well.

Poundland really do stock a great selection of products including leading names in stationery such as Tipex, Helix and Bic great staple items for your school pencil case.

 I really like this great value Helix maths set, it is perfect for new senior school students, containing everything they need for beginning maths, whilst not breaking the bank.  The compass although plastic, works well and the fact everything fits neatly into a small plastic container hopefully means they won't get lost so easily!

Other great essential items we found in Poundland were the ever essential sticky post it notes, a nice sized block of multi coloured sticky notes for £1 an essential for last minute memos, and a handy 9 piece pen organiser set, which included a simple black plastic pot - ideal for a desk tidy, a highlighter pen, red, blue and black ball point pens, pencils and a permanent marker - all your stationery needs in one stop.

We also loved the home&office  hole punch and stapler set. Both items and a packet of refill staples for just £1  The two items are perfect sized for keeping in a school bag or at home for any homework projects.

Of course purchasing all the school stationery for the older children meant Mikey wanted to join in too! And Poundland have so many great activity sets for younger children. Mikey picked out a Monster colouring set and he really loves it.

this simple set included several A5 printed monster designs, felt tip pens and crayons. All perfectly good quality and they have entertained Mikey for hours over several days as he keeps returning to colour another monster, he even has started drawing his own collection of monsters now.

Mikey also picked out a Bin weevil set, which included a pencil case, pencil sharpener, pen and pencil. This is a great little set, however the pencil case is rather small and the pencil doesn't easily fit in, and a 15cm ruler would certainly not fit. Fine for youngsters but not so great for anyone taking to school.

If you are still worrying about grabing the last minute homework supplies, or finishing off the long list of 'must haves' for the new school term, then do take a look at the great range in your local poundland store - or online on Poundlands website