Back to School Scotland: The August Checklist

It’s the last week of July. The summer holidays have three weeks left and you haven’t bought a single polo shirt. The clothing grant form is sitting in your email. The shoes from last year definitely don’t fit. Here’s everything you need to sort before the first day back — in the order you should do it.

June: the money

Do this before the holidays start. Once term ends, you’ll forget.

• Apply for the school clothing grant — every council has a form online, usually combined with the free school meals application. Grants range from £120 to £185 per child depending on your council. You qualify if you receive Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA or certain tax credits. Most councils pay within 2–4 weeks. See our full clothing grant guide for amounts by council.
• Apply for free school meals (P6 upwards) — even if your child gets universal free meals in P1–P5, applying for means-tested FSM unlocks the clothing grant and other support.
• Check EMA eligibility if your child is entering S5 or S6 — £30/week, paid fortnightly, for households under £24,500/£27,000.

July: the stuff

Uniform. Check the school website for the current policy — colours, logo requirements, PE kit. Then buy strategically:

• Supermarkets first — Asda, Tesco, M&S and Aldi all do school uniform bundles from £4–5 per item. Polo shirts, trousers and skirts are identical quality to branded versions.
• School-specific items — blazers, ties and embroidered PE tops usually need to come from the school’s supplier or an approved retailer. Order early — popular sizes sell out by late July.
• Shoes — budget £25–40 for a pair that will last a term. Don’t spend more; they’ll be destroyed by October.

Stationery. Secondary pupils need a pencil case, pens, pencils, ruler, highlighters, scientific calculator (Casio fx-83 or fx-85 covers everything to Advanced Higher), and a protractor. Primary pupils need pencils, a rubber, a ruler, and whatever the teacher specifies. Wait for the school’s list before buying subject-specific items.

Technology. Some secondaries request a tablet or laptop contribution. This is a “voluntary contribution” — your child cannot be excluded from lessons for not having one. If cost is an issue, speak to the school about their loan scheme.

August: the logistics

1. 1

   Check the start date

   Scottish schools go back between 11 and 19 August depending on your council. Confirm the exact date on your council's website or our school holidays page.
2. 2

   Sort school transport

   If your child qualifies for free transport (lives beyond 2 miles for primary, 3 miles for secondary from catchment school), the council should have confirmed this. If not, chase them — routes fill up.
3. 3

   Reset the sleep schedule

   Start shifting bedtime 15 minutes earlier each night a week before school starts. The jump from summer lie-ins to a 7am alarm is brutal otherwise.
4. 4

   Do the first-day dry run

   Walk or drive the route. Check the bus timetable. Make sure your child knows where they're going — especially S1 pupils at a new school.
5. 5

   Label everything

   Name labels in blazers, PE kit, and lunch boxes. Schools lose hundreds of items per term. Anything unlabelled stays in lost property indefinitely.

P1 starters: what extra you need

If your child is starting Primary 1, they also need:

• A school bag (not a rucksack the size of them — P1 homework is a reading book and a folder)
• A water bottle (named)
• A change of clothes in a bag for the first few weeks (accidents happen; it’s normal)
• Indoor shoes if the school requires them (some do, some don’t)
• A packed lunch or a registered free meals place

Your school will have sent a P1 information pack in June. Read it. It answers 90% of the questions parents ask in the first week.

S1 starters: what changes

Secondary school costs more than primary. Your child will need:

• A larger bag (textbooks, folders, PE kit on different days)
• A scientific calculator (£10–15 — don’t buy a graphical calculator yet; they’re not needed until Higher Maths)
• Possibly a locker padlock (the school will tell you the type)
• A bus pass or travel money if they’re no longer walking

See our P7 to S1 transition guide for everything beyond the shopping list.

What nobody tells you about August

The first week costs more than you expect. Between uniform, shoes, stationery, bags, PE kit, transport and the inevitable “everyone else has one” requests, most families spend £200–400 per child going back to school. For families with two or three children, that’s a serious hit in a single month.

Apply for every grant you’re entitled to. Buy supermarket basics where you can. Push back on anything the school presents as mandatory but is actually optional. And remember that the clothing grant exists specifically for this — it’s not charity; it’s a universal entitlement for eligible families. Use it.