Are you kitted out for back to school?

In a mere few weeks the time will come for little darlings all across the nation to waken their minds, trudge through school gates and resume their academic pursuits. Here’s a quick run-down of places to buy uniform and stationery in Canterbury.

For school-specific uniform, Ernest Newson has a good range of daily uniform and P.E kit, and cater for several of Canterbury’s schools. To check if they supply uniform for your school, use the handy drop-down list on their website. Otherwise, for more generic school clothing, Marks & Spencer and Asda have a selection of non-emblem school uniform at reasonable prices.

On to shoes, and we’re lucky enough to have our very own Clarks in Canterbury. Their reputation for quality school shoes attracts many parents (with children in tow) this time of year.

Stationery, in my experience, has always been one of those things that divides the sexes. Boys tend to rock up to class with a biro and a beaten-up protractor which they found on the floor of the school bus; girls seem to have the full array of writing paraphernalia (which tends to be much more than they actually need or could even possibly use – I recall being the proud owner of some pretty snazzy and rather redundant ice-cream scented highlighters.)

So for cheap and cheerful stationery, head to Wilkinsons. For the slightly classier (and a bit more robust) version have a peek in WH Smith, where you can also buy those much-needed scientific calculators. And finally, if you’re looking for something pretty, you’ll find all sorts of quirky items at Paperchase. I like this organiser, pictured above, as a nice alternative to the standard homework diary.