Right, quick heads-up before we start: this one's another partnership with Back Market, the refurbished-tech marketplace. And honestly, the timing couldn't be better. September's charging toward us, and the back-to-school “must-haves” are already piling up faster than I can say “do you really need the new one?”

Here's what made me want to write this. Back Market ran new research with 2,000 UK parents, and the numbers are a bit sobering. After a summer that costs the average family around £6,000, parents are staring down another £800+ just to get the kids “back-to-school ready.” Nine in ten children are asking for the latest tech they don't actually need - and 81% of parents say they'll struggle to afford it all.

I've been on both sides of this. When I was in school, I'd have done unspeakable things for a laptop that could do more than run one program at a time - and the kit I actually had was held together with hope. Looking at what's available now, the gap between “what a student genuinely needs” and “what gets marketed to them” has never been wider. So the fix isn't going without. It's going refurbished. Four in five parents are already open to it, and 45% reckon their kid couldn't even tell the difference from new. With Back Market you get a 12-month warranty, full transparency on condition, and hundreds of options. Here's what I'd actually buy for the new term.

This is the big-ticket item, and it's exactly where going refurbished pays off most. Here's the truth nobody selling you a laptop wants to say out loud: for essays, research and living inside Google Docs, you do not need this year's model. A professionally refurbished laptop from a generation or two back does the job beautifully for a fraction of the price.

What to actually look for: aim for 8GB of RAM as your floor (16GB if there's any video editing or heavier coursework), and 256GB of storage minimum so nobody's deleting photos to save a homework file. That spec sailed past “good enough for school” years ago - which is exactly why last-gen is such good value.

Worth knowing: 23% of parents are told their child “needs” a brand-new laptop for school. Nearly always, they don't.

Ah, the phone. The one where “everyone else has the latest” does most of the heavy lifting. A refurbished recent-gen iPhone or Android looks and works like new for a lot less - and as a nice bonus, it keeps a perfectly good phone out of a drawer (or landfill).

My checklist before you buy: look at the condition grade, check the battery health percentage is healthy (aim for 85%+), and make sure it's unlocked so it works on any network.

The stat that says it all: 23% of kids specifically ask for a new iPhone or smartphone to keep up with their mates, and 74% of parents hear the immortal line - “but everyone else has the latest one.”

A tablet is a genuinely brilliant middle option - perfect for note-taking, reading and homework without stretching to a full laptop budget. And an older-generation iPad still has the battery life and the screen to carry a school day comfortably.

My tip: you don't need the newest iPad to hit the sweet spot. A model a couple of generations back gives you the best value-to-performance ratio, and it'll happily run everything a student throws at it for years.

For context: 20% of parents get asked for a new iPad.

This is the lower-cost want that somehow still finds its way onto every list. Refurbished AirPods or headphones are great for study focus and the commute - minus the premium you'd pay new.

If you're buying refurbished earbuds, check three things: battery life (they degrade with use), the condition of the charging case, and - I promise this matters - that they've been properly cleaned with fresh ear tips. A good refurbisher sorts all of this.

Small line item, real cost: 14% of kids ask for new headphones or AirPods.

Quick one worth flagging, because it's easy to miss. If you're a student or a teacher, Back Market has an additional discount available on top of the already-lower refurbished prices - currently £20 off purchases over £250. On a laptop or tablet, that's a proper dent in the total. Worth checking before you check out.

This is the bit I actually care about. It's not only your wallet on the line - 75% of parents worry about the environmental impact of buying new tech, and what happens to the old device it replaces. Refurbished answers both. You spend less, and you keep working kit in circulation instead of on a landfill pile.

The scale is real: Back Market has prevented around 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂, and it's a certified B Corp - which means the sustainability stuff is independently held to account, not just a line on a homepage. As Back Market's Luke Forshaw puts it, the whole point is helping families keep costs down without compromising on quality - and that's exactly the balance a refurbished device with a 12-month warranty strikes.

And it's not just me saying it - Back Market has worked with parents like mum-of-five Laura Dove (@5littledoves) to shine a light on just how much the back-to-school tech bill really adds up.

One more thing worth knowing: every purchase is backed by the Back Market Promise - a 12-month warranty, 30-day free returns, free shipping, and up to a 100-point quality inspection on every device. That's the safety net that makes buying refurbished a genuinely easy call.

So here's the takeaway: you don't have to choose between what your kids want and what your wallet (and the planet) can actually handle. Refurbished is the smart middle ground - the same tech, the same job done, minus the £800 sting.

If I'd had this option back in my school days, I'd have saved a fortune and a lot of frustration. Your kids don't have to wait. Have a good term.

~ Mark