back to article Emotional baggage

Two days before my teenage son was due to begin Sixth Form this week, the school phoned up to say that he's not allowed to study ICT at A-level. This came as a bit of a shock since computing was going to be one of his principal subjects. He might not be one of those 'A-star' students that you read about on results day - …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Thecowking

    I love my Wenger Backpack

    It does indeed only have one padded pocket, but it easily has room in the same space at the back for a laptop/tablet in a padded sleeve, kindle goes in the front, phone slips in the top pocket (some kind of ipod holder thing, just right for a phone and the rest of the pocket space is great for pens, leatherman etc). then there's the main compartment which easily has the space for a change of clothes and lunch, and my cables for my chargers handily stashed in the net pocket at the top. then there's another compartment with yet another phone pocket, pen space etc which handily holds my bike lock. And on top of all that I fit a bottle of water in the side. I still have a pocket at the very front free and another side pocket.

    Love this bag so much. Used it on three continents for 6 years and while the rubber in the little bungee things on the side is dead, the rest of the bag is still working well if a little scuffed. Cost me £15 in Morgan years back and I can't replace it. Not even with the Wenger messenger back I picked up this year.

    1. Thecowking

      Re: I love my Wenger Backpack

      I just realised I'm a Wenger backpack fanboi. Oh well.

    2. geekclick
      Thumb Up

      Re: I love my Wenger Backpack

      +1 for the Wenger.. I have one provided by the company and it is fantastic, i travel to europe at least once a month and it easily swallows 2 laptops, tablet, chargers and cables, clothes, food and i generally have space left for a trinket or two for the wife, go and try one out before dismissing ;)

      1. jamesb2147
        Thumb Up

        Re: I love my Wenger Backpack

        As long as we're on the subject of Wengers...

        Bought mine in 2005. It has a CD player pocket instead of an iPod/phone pocket. The thing has held up amazingly well. Still has some cushion (in nasty situations, I have been known to use the thing as a pillow), straps are comfy, and about the only thing that's gone wrong is the lining started peeling off a couple of years ago. I guess that was the waterproofing. Oops!

        Seriously though, I take this thing everywhere with me. I'm US based and it's seen Canadia, Nicaragua, the UK, Germany, and it's my primary bag on domestic trips. Biggest problem is that if I let it get too big then it doesn't fit in the overhead bins on smaller airplanes!

        See if you can find it someplace with a good return policy. Are Amazon's UK return policies same/similar/better? I've turned in used electric razors before when dissatisfied.

        1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
          Coat

          The one problem with a Wenger Backpack

          The thing is large - Tardis-like, even - inside. The problem is thus that it actually invites you to lug along backbreaking amounts of gear. To give you an idea of just how much space the thing has, I'm pretty sure that if I forgot about taking along the body of a particularly irritating former end user for disposal, it is quite possible that it would remain in the bag until a pungent smell would remind me of its presence - it wouldn't get in my way in the meantime..

    3. Psyx
      Thumb Up

      Re: I love my Lowepro / Tamrac / Kata Backpack

      Have you looked at camera backpacks?

      I hadn't, until I worked for a company that sold them. They're ace: Millions of pockets, waterproof, and designed to hold tons of fragile stuff.

      Kata bags are also bright yellow inside, which is handy for finding stuff.

    4. Robert Simmons
      Thumb Up

      Re: I love my Wenger Backpack

      +1 for the Wenger.

      I'm also a roving engineer, I carry two laptops (and occasionally an iPad) along with various cabling, power supplies, external HDDs etc. Picked up a Wenger Hudson backpack, and its positively cavernous. Even with all my rubbish it's still only 2/3rds full.

  2. Norm DePlume

    My school did this to me in 1988. Turns out that the other people in the year all wanted to do Chemistry in conjunction with their A-levels so my Computer Studies option, which had officially been available the previous day, was kicked into the long grass. All but one ot the other pupils dropped out of their chosen combination of subjects, leaving one guy previously from another school and me. So my sixth-form career was diverted for a bunch of quitters and a guy from another school.

    Am I bitter? No! It turns out the Computer course might not have got me into Cambridge for CompSci, so ironically I did better without it, as Cambridge is precisely where I ended up.

    1. Ru

      ...and the course mentioned in the article is "A-Level ICT" which rings alarm bells. Even A-Level computer science has been pretty crap over the years, and anything that purports to be even softer probably isn't worth a whole lot.

      Timetabling is a pretty thankless task though. The chances of some people getting stuffed is high, and all the admin folk can do is to minimise the number of disappointed students. Hiring an additional lecturer is a pretty expensive proposition, especially if only a small number of students would ultimately benefit, surely?

      1. Buzzword

        Universities don't generally require an ICT A-level anyway, so he's better off taking further maths or physics. If he's a proper geek then taking drama will help round off his personality and meet lots of girls too.

    2. Alistair Dabbs

      Norm and Ru - thanks, this is what I suspected, given the buzz at the moment about the need for more programmers and fewer divvies knowing a bit about PowerPoint. My son's main subject is now Music Technology, so I suppose Drama will enable him to perform Music Tech on a beach in Brighton while waving one finger in the air.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Thirded (fourthed, whatever we're up to). Anyone who is serious about a career in programming (or closely related hands on work, DB design, etc), I would recommend not to take ICT at A-Level of GCSE. Get a hard science subject, e.g. Maths or Physics. I believe a lot of University lecturers in Computer Science would prefer a lot of their new students didn't arrive with ICT A-levels. Enough knowledge that they will get bored in the first year introductory parts, badly taught enough that it will cause problems. At any rate, doing Drama isn't a bad thing either. It's fun, it's creative and quite frankly all that matters for a career in programming is that you get on to the degree level course. An ICT A-Level is essentially wasted time if you then go on to do a degree. No employer is going to care if you have a Comp. Sci degree AND an ICT A-level. The former completely replaces the latter. Better to have Comp. Sci. plus Drama. It may work out for the best.

      2. keithpeter Silver badge
        Windows

        "My son's main subject is now Music Technology..."

        If he needs a break from Logic and Reaktor, there is always Puredata and Supercolider. The latter uses sclang (Lisp related) for programming so he can sneak some fairly serious coding in. You can even get paid to code in public (google the wonderfully named 'slub' performance group).

        PS: Muji do nice sleeves/mini-bags that just fit a 12 inch laptop so I would guess would fit an iPad.

  3. JDX Gold badge

    Shouldn't this be in Bootnotes?

    Hardware is for serious articles I thought!

    1. dogged

      Re: Shouldn't this be in Bootnotes?

      This is AD channelling Private Eye's ace columnist, Phil Space.

  4. D@v3

    Crumpler

    Do quite a good range of bags, for many uses. Mainly seem to be camera bags, but as a result have lots of padding. I've been using my "Fourninety daily (L)" every day for about 4 years, only ever had one problem with it, which was a broken zip pull, but due to the lifetime warranty was able to take it to one of their shops for repair.

    1. Simple Si

      Re: Crumpler

      Crumpler gets the thumbs up from me too - I bought the 'Double Charge' bag designed for large laptops. I use it nearly every day for over 4 years now when commuting in on my push bike. Lots of space and pockets!

    2. Scott Mckenzie

      Re: Crumpler

      Crumpler for me too - some of the designs are a bit quirky but they're very well made, strong and reliable.

      Loads of pockets too!

  5. Oor Nonny-Muss

    A-level ICT is useful?

    If your son's been at ActionScript since 11, ICT A-level sounds to me like a waste of his time.

    But what do I know - I had the same fight when I wanted to do all 3 sciences at both O-level and A-level and ended up travelling to another school in town for the third one (Biology at O-level, Chemistry at A-level).

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Even if the teachers can't be arsed...

    your son could ask to study the course anyway, with project supervision from a nearby school, like this inspiring chap did:

    http://smartsim.org.uk/index.php?page=history

  7. Bronek Kozicki

    I know at least one story where a sixformer passed ICT with A* without receiving any educational help from his school - i.e. the school agreed to sign him for the test, on the condition that they won't do any work to educate him (lazy bastards - he basically learned himself). This can be done, don't give up so easily.

    As for rucksacks, I sometime ago switched to bike ones - these are quite robust and light, yet large enough to fit equipment I carry often, also have stiffened back to keep it safe. The one I use is Jack Wolfskin Velocity 12 but there is plenty to choose from, some look more "business" than the others.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      > he basically learned himself

      either "he taught himself" or "he learned by himself" (although I'd prefer the former to the latter)

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Headmaster

        Well if you're going to be like that...

        It's perfectly valid to say 'he learned, himself'.

        You're not then trying to shoe-horn 'learned' into being a synonym for taught, and everything's fine and dandy.

        1. Andus McCoatover
          Windows

          Sorry, but his pseudonym....

          Would suggest English isn't his native lingo. Learned-taught? In Finland the natives have a problem wilth "lend" and "borrow". So effing what??? We understand. Stop being pedantic, will ya? Last time I bought a map, there wasn't near as many countries coloured pink than when I was at Primary school.....

      2. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
        Headmaster

        Kenneth Grahame had a few thoughts on the matter...

        The Toad, having finished his breakfast, picked up a stout stick and swung it vigorously, belabouring imaginary animals. `I'll learn 'em to steal my house!' he cried. `I'll learn 'em, I'll learn 'em!'

        `Don't say "learn 'em," Toad,' said the Rat, greatly shocked. `It's not good English.'

        `What are you always nagging at Toad for?' inquired the Badger, rather peevishly. `What's the matter with his English? It's the same what I use myself, and if it's good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for you!'

        `I'm very sorry,' said the Rat humbly. `Only I THINK it ought to be "teach 'em," not "learn 'em."'

        `But we don't WANT to teach 'em,' replied the Badger. `We want to LEARN 'em--learn 'em, learn 'em! And what's more, we're going to DO it, too!'

        If it's good enough for Mr Badger, it;s good enough for me!

  8. NATO
    IT Angle

    This is typical of British education...

    This happened to me back in school, the year I was due to enter sixth form, the school decided to drop A-Level Computing in favour of a GNVQ in ICT (ie, a 2-year 'How to use Microsoft Office' course).

    Of course being the computer geek I am this was not acceptable so my friend and I both enrolled for A-Level Computing as a night course at my local further education college in addition to our normal school studies.

    We both got A grades which was a lovely 'two fingers' to the IT Teacher, although he preferred the new course because it meant he didn't have to do as much actual TEACHING as he used to.

    And anyone wonders why there aren't enough kids choosing Computer Science as a degree option...

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: This is typical of British education...

      "so my friend and I both enrolled for A-Level Computing as a night course at my local further education college in addition to our normal school studies."

      And these days, the Colleges that still offer A level in comp sci will probably also have networking teaching rooms (fun to play with, but only in the holidays for me) . Sadly, you might have to travel a bit.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bag suggestion and ICT is a good one to miss

    These have room. Lots of room.

    http://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/chrome-citizen-messenger-bag-735.html?gclid=CLWzn76to7ICFYXJtAodfVoABw

    As for ICT A-level - he really isn't missing anything. Seriously...my better half is a deputy 6th form college runner thingy. I have seen a paper. The only thing I am sorry about is the fact you will not be able to rant about A Level ICT on here as a result.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bag suggestion and ICT is a good one to miss

      Scared of clicking any link with the URL "Always Riding", just in case its NSFW...

      2 years of MS Office* training would sadly come in useful in a software development environment, dealing with Spreadsheets with test cases, requirements and project metrics, release note documents and endless powerpoint presentations.

      (* Feel free to use Libre/Open Office/Lotus Sympathy)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    1980

    and my 5th "option" at O level was crash-German for Latin students. Couldn't timetable that, so I ended up with choice #10 (which I had put down as a joke). Typing.

    Decided being the only guy with 20 girls who *wanted* to be secretaries wasn't for me, and went for option #9 .... Latin.

    1. dogged
      Pint

      Re: 1980

      1986, sixteen years old and managed to get a job with BT. In the typing pool, because I could type. The only male among a sea of women.

      That was an experience.

      1. Alistair Dabbs

        Re: 1980

        >> The only male among a sea of women.

        I bet it was fun when the tide came in.

        1. hplasm
          Coat

          Re: 1980

          Red tides are dangerous,

          /runs away, coat flapping.

        2. dogged

          Re: 1980

          @AD: That was only one week out of six. Bearable.

    2. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge

      Re: 1980

      I wanted to do Latin and they wouldn't let me. It wasn't a scheduling issue, it was just the Latin master was buggering off.

  11. Irongut

    Can't help with the bag search but your son's story sounds very familiar. I was in the same situation 24 years ago with GCSE Computer Science. My school made the top class do their Maths and English a year early at 15 so that the following year we could do Advanced Maths, Computer Science or some other extra courses. They had done this with O-Levels and promised us they would do the same with GCSEs. As a result I was in the first year to do Maths & English GCSE but the second year of GCSEs for all my other subjects.

    Unfortunately the morons a year older than me struggled to get all their Computer Science coursework done in time so when I entered 5th year they cancelled the scheme and made us get a head start on A-Level Maths and English. Grrr.

    I had been programming the ZX81 and Spectrum since I was 10, had installed the school's LAN a couple of years before and was learning Pascal on our 286s at lunchtimes. The IT teacher agreed with me I would sail through the course no problem and even offered to teach me after school but the Deputy Head would not agree to my requests.

    So here I sit 24 years later with a successful carreer in IT as a System Admin and a Programmer, no thanks to the expensive private school my parents sent me to.

  12. Cannae Tech IT
    Go

    Bags channel on The Register

    El Reg definitely needs a Bags Channel - luggage isn't just "hardware". It's lifestyle, utility, culture, image, quality, ergonomics and a cash sink to rival any Volvo. Anyway, for my tuppence, the Tom Bihn Brain Bag looks a good bet

  13. Admiral Grace Hopper
    Thumb Up

    ICT A-level

    With very few honourable exceptions, the best people that I have worked with in IT have entered the industry after studying anything but IT, so frankly your son has dodged a bullet there. He'll learn what he needs while he studies other stuff that will make him more rounded. I wouldn't stop him from studying CompSci later on, those honourable exceptions were good despite their CompSci degrees, but he's been gifted with two years learning something useful rather than A-level ICT.

  14. pepper
    Thumb Up

    Tech air

    Have a look at these bags: http://www.techair.co.uk/

    Served me well for years driving about a hour back n forth on a multitude of roads and weather conditions(rain, freezing, burning hot) on a mountainbike. It even protected the laptop when the bag tumbled from a table due to my own failure to put it in a stable position. When the zipper broke they even replaced the bag free of charge(without sending back the old one). When it was delivered to the wrong adress(by the mail company, even though the adress was correct on the bill) they send a second one, freely again.

    So yeah, good service and quality. Still love it.

  15. Tapeador
    Meh

    Is it just me or is there something really offputtingly creepy about that leer with the "something for the weekend, sir?" headline next to it?

    1. Alistair Dabbs

      >> Is it just me or is there something really offputtingly creepy about that leer with the "something for the weekend, sir?" headline next to it?

      It's just you. Tell me about your mother.

  16. JimC
    Headmaster

    It must be impossible

    To timetable any random collection of A levels - at least unless the school is so large that there are about 5 sets available in any subject. So what were his other proposed A levels? Are we talking about a reasonably logical combination?

    Of course it was such much easier back in my day: I froget the exact options, but there were only (IIRC) 13 A and O levels on the school curriculum at all, and if you wanted to mix science and arts subjects you were largely out of luck.

  17. Jabber 44

    Bag Selection.

    I see you have a unique issue with cramming things in.

    I walk in all weathers about 30 minutes each way, what I'm looking for is waterproof-ness and waist and chest straps,

    This is what I chose...

    http://www.pakuma.com/products/akara_k1.htm

    I don't see the waist and chest straps on the Wenger bags, though I admin I only had a cursory look.

    1. Thecowking

      Re: Bag Selection.

      My Wenger bag has a chest strap but no waist strap.

      It's not a great issue for me, though I appreciate the chest strap when I stop off to get some milk, beer, wine other heavy grocery on the way home.

      My hiking rucksack has a waist strap, but it's a lot larger than my backpack.

      1. hplasm
        Happy

        Re: Bag Selection.

        As long as the waiststrap is bigger than the waist, it's not an IT problem....

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bag Selection -- And if you want more padded compartments...

      ... then MAKE THEM YOURSELF, TO YOUR SPECS. Not that hard to find a suitable 5mil foam and cover that with a good fabric of your choice. Make a bag-insert to fit exactly two ipads, for example, or for those plus a 15" laptop (so your present and future macbook fits), whatever. A waterproof snack-insert so your sandwich doesn't get crumpled, or one to hold your drinksbottle upright? No problems. Maybe you have to ask a suitable female, maybe you can do it yourself.

  18. Rabbi

    Try Targus Atmosphere

    I've been using a Targus Atmosphere TNT007EU for about 5 years. So good I just bought another off eBay, plus 5 more for other colleagues. You can currently find them for £17.

    The description says 15.4" - don't be fooled. My regular laptop is an old 17.1" HP model - full widescreen and not very thin. The case regularly carries the laptop, loads of papers, large assortment of cables, 2 CD wallets, 4 LTO backup tapes and an external DVD drive. There is room in the proper laptop compartment for 2 laptops or maybe 3 if they're thin - and dividers to keep them separate.

    The rear compartment expands - it has an all-around zip that allows it to be made larger. Even without doing that I have carried my lunch in there. The pictures show it expanded and holding a printer and that is certainly possible.

    The strap is wide and compfortable, although the one time I carried 3 laptops, I wasn't sure I could trust the stitching and metal attachments, so I used the handles - which are also quite good.

  19. MrSums

    Lazy school admins

    I discussed exactly this issue with a pal of mine the other day - he is a senior master at a very well known and well thought of school. My daughter was given this rubbish last year and has resulted in a wasted year of her time before we placed her in a college that would provide the course SHE wanted.

    My pal's comment was that timetabling is a problem, but if a school puts sufficient effort into it - and ironically a bit of computer time - they can - and should - achieve a satisfactory (not perfect mind) outcome for ALL students.

    Simply letting the "gifted" pupils have their options and letting the rest squabble over what is left is pathetic.

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: Lazy school admins

      Depends on the number of students in the 6th form and the *average* number of students per class for economic viability.

      Another problem that Schools have is that a given teacher will probably have to teach lower in the school, so cutting the 'slots' available for 6th form work. These days, students do take some pretty random combinations (in my day it was 'science sixth', maths physics chemistry OR Biology Chemistry Physics with a scientific maths slot, OR 'humanities') and so some serious juggling is needed.

      FE Colleges have it easier: more students (thousands rather than hundreds), more teachers (factorially more combinations of class possible), less 'down school' constraints, but they are increasingly 'data driven' and tend to avoid the harder subjects like the plague.

      The main problem at my place of work is fitting everyone in; I'll be teaching in the car park next week by the look of it. We usually manage something... Gove has made GCSEs in Maths and English free to adults who do not have them as opposed to £200 a pop last year, which is great but we have a lot more adult students wanting day lessons...

  20. Andraž 'ruskie' Levstik

    Hmmm bags and more bags

    I went through quite a lot. But my requirements are that I can put atleast 2 1L bottles of water in them along with a ton of other stuff. Managed to get my hands on a Wegner backpack this year and I'm happy to report I still have plenty of room with 2 1.5L of sigg water bottles in there, an eeepc701(though I'd like to replace that with a 13" laptop device), ton of cabling, adapters, glass cleaning kit, portable fork/knife/spoon, portable headphones, etc... etc... etc... And still have room to put in my ereader and probably a lot more.

    Very happy with it. Though the lack of waist straps is a bit annoying. And I can't use chest straps since it presses on my chest and can trigger my asthma.

    I guess some people don't understand how hard getting the right gear for such things is.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hmmm bags and more bags

      2x 1 litre bottles in a laptop case?

      Didn't I see you in Lidl carpark trying to sell a "laptop"?....

  21. This post has been deleted by its author

  22. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
    Boffin

    A couple of thoughts...

    1) Timetabling is a non-trivial problem. In fact, it's known to be NP-complete, so if your son's school has more than a few students taking A-levels and contention on rooms, sadly it's likely that clashes with less common combinations of subjects are likely to occur.

    2) A-level ICT is likely to be based around how to use spreadsheets, which might be useful if your son wants to be an admin assistant, but if he wants to be a programmer, he would be wiser to choose subjects such as maths/further maths, physics, or chemistry, all of which will aid in the development of the numeracy and analytical skills he will need. The fact that these are exactly the A-levels I took many years ago, and I now work as a professional software developer probably bears this out. Just don't let him spend five years at uni studying Chemistry as I did...

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I was in the same boat...

    2002 GCSE options, and I want to do IT and history. My school at the time had a "block" system, where you had a number of subject groups and could select one from each. History and IT were in the same block, so I couldn't do it. Fortunately the IT and graphics teachers were the same bloke, so I was allowed to do my IT work in the back of the graphics class.

  24. PoorLumpyPony

    Samsonite Network bag

    May not fit your lunch but this has far and away been my favourite laptop bag, freakishly light, handles tablet, laptop and kindle as well as paperwork and chargers separately.

    Level of protection is only just sufficient but of the ones I looked at it was by far the lightest (I think without the shoulder strap its a bit over 200grams) which for a 'briefcase' bag is important.

    My job requires bunny ears so cant have a rucksack....

  25. NIck Hunn
    Happy

    Incompetent school IT

    If the school isn't capable of running a timetabling program, it's probably not the best place to be taught A level ICT. Maybe your son should offer to do the timetabling for them in the future, as it sounds as if he could do a better job. And the drama course should help him deal with next year's awkward parents if their little darlings still don't get the options they want.

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Boffin

      Re: Incompetent school IT

      Timetabling is hugely 'political' as it deals with resource allocation (staff, rooms). Usually done by Senior People to minimise arguments.

  26. Gerhard den Hollander

    dell bag

    Dell provides a backpack option for some of their laptops. They are small enough to fit on a plane as carry on, but big enough to hold an M6400 and it's power adapter . Neal Stephensons Quicksilver (the hardback edition) a similar assortment of IT goods and goodies (spare BBerry battery, spare (ancient) phone, various chargers, USB cables, USB powered light, paper hankies, 2 sets of headphones (the airplane kind and the earbuds for the cellphone) external USB speakers, a bike waterbottle, a variation on the theme of packed lunch and 2 external USB disks.

    Oh, and a couple of pens, the weekend newspaper and a paperbased notebook, and a lefthanded logitech mouse.

    And since it's a backpack you can lug this around for hours with less damage to your system then one of those over the shoulder things.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      Re: dell bag

      As much I am not a fan of Dell machines, I liberated one of their laptop bags that was about to get skipped during a lab clearout of my old company.

      An "over the shoulder" briefcase thingy, but it is leather, big enough for 2 full size laptops and a book, chargers, mice, paper notepads etc. in it's many cubby holes.

      Still use it to this day lugging the corporate Thinkpad about.

      Always thought the backpack bags looked like something a cycle courier would use. Though probably harder to steal.

  27. Paul Nash

    Tom Bihn

    I have pretty much one of every computer bag ever made, and have finally found as close to perfect as I expect to get. Take a close look at the Tom Bihn bags; as I prefer messenger-style bags I have the Super-Ego. Lots of space, the Best Shoulder Strap Ever, tough as nails. Not cheap, but worth every penny.

  28. MJI Silver badge

    Can't do that lesson

    I had this at O level/CSE.

    Put down 2 sciences, tech drawing, metalwork.

    Couldn't do metalwork so had to do youarepeeing studies, managed a nice low CSE for it, I think 3 or 4 of us did it due to no metalwork.

  29. This post has been deleted by its author

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DIY bag?

    To be honest, everybody's requirements are so different that finding the perfect bag is impossible. Your best bet is to create your own:

    Put the tablets and laptops in individual padded sleeves and just chuck them all in the single main padded bit all together - no worry about them scratching each other.

    or....

    Order multiple removable padded laptop inserts and put them in the main bit of a 'normal' bag.

    or....

    There are loads of people who will make you exactly the bag you want. You can specify the size of each pocket, fastners, colours, fabrics, padding, strap width, the lot. And they're often surprisingly cheap too. Try Timbuk2 or similar, or even Etsy if you want to release your inner hipster.

    or...

    Personally I'd split it betwen two bags. A messenger bag for handy items, like the Kindle, iPad, lunch, etc., and a backpack for the more 'worky' stuff - cable, drives, laptop, etc. It's easy to carry both together, and you can split them as required.

    In terms of makes, I like Crumpler and Kata.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's the way they swindle you out of it

    My 3rd year - Year 9 or something nowadays? - they made us choose between Biology and German - "final choice next week, but quick show of hands which way you're leaning" - and I raised my hand for German, came back next week and said "Biology" and they said "Sorry, we already have too many who put their hand up for Biology"...

    ..."Schwänze!!!" (See, I learned both anyway ;-)

  32. Walt Leipold

    Targus Drifter II

    Well built, roomy, lots of pockets and padding, separate padded laptop compartments, and comfortable straps. Easily holds a 16"+ laptop, a couple of tablets, two books, an umbrella, two power bricks, several dozen adapters and cables, and all the other essential detritus of everyday life.

    I was surprised how nice this bag is. Only $57 on Amazon.

  33. Nick Ryan Silver badge

    Scheduling...

    When I did my exams at school it was the block system... therefore I couldn't do both English and Computer Science(*) at A-Level - which rather upset my English teacher but I wasn't too worried at the time. Couldn't do Computer Science along with Art (GCSE or A-Level) either, which was more of an upset though. There are always going to be some scheduling conflicts, but sometimes the rationalisation between the blocks is gob smacking in its weirdness.

    (*) And yes, it really was Computer Science. We started off learning logic diagrams and made our way up from there. No "how to apply a shitty effect to a Power Point slide" classes for us - probably part;y due to Power Point not existing at the time but also due to have a very good teacher who did care.

  34. Piloti
    Thumb Up

    I had no idea.....

    .... there were so many luggage obsessed anally retentive people like me out there!

    Power to you all!

    I have a Samsonite which has trolley wheels/handle and rucksack traps, one main section and a slightly smaller front with another st the bottom [smokes in here!], two side panels, one netted for me wet brolley.

    I can get one full size laptop in here, power cable/brick, 10m LAN cable, one book [[Pale Blue Dot right now] two mobiles, one mp3 player, various cables for the USB plug / charger and, when the need arises, a weeks worth of clothing.

    All in. Together.

    Oh, and an apple!

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    "I mean, look what happened when they wouldn’t let Adolf Hitler on the right course."

    In other words, the day your son is brought before the war crimes tribunal, you'll say it was all the school's fault and the parents had nothing to do with it? Yep, sounds like New Parenting to me...

  36. Dazed and Confused

    Not sure who made my laptop bag

    But its got Swiss things on, I thought it was the people who did the army knife stuff, don't really care.

    But although it only has a pocket for 1 laptop a second one easily fits in the read compartment which is all heavily padded, so I manage two 17" "mobile workstations" plus assorted 200W power supplies odds and sods, Kindle, stack of drives and all the other shit that tends to pile up on these days.

    The only problem left is actually being able to pick the damn thing up!

  37. Dan Paul
    Thumb Down

    Does your son need the class to graduate this semester??

    I had a similar issue in the US and since I needed the one course to graduate that semester, I went to the Dean and complained.

    Turns out that a public college is required to provide courses needed to graduate regardless of the number of attendees. That all worked out because the rest of the people in my curricula signed up for the course when it became available.

  38. Roy Etter

    Another bag supplier...

    Try these guys:

    http://www.brightlinebags.com/

    You should be able to buy the components you want and zip them together to get the bag you really need. As an extra bonus, you can remove extra bag components for the times you don't need them.

  39. Bad Beaver

    TUMI Alpha

    Lot's of choice there. A tad on the expensive side though, yet well worth a look for cool features (Tracer!), impressive build quality and understated no nonsense design.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Anti-fashionista

    I've always used whatever carrier bag my favourite supermarket gives me. If they're good enough for carrying my plums about in they're good enough for anything.

  41. Justin 3141 S

    I use a 3 pocket backpack that is made for weekend backpacking adventures; one step up from it would be a full on frame pack. 1 HUGE pocket that has a full heavy duty zipper fits 5 large legal textbooks, a laptop, a thermos and has some room to spare. The second pocket takes my cables/random small things. The third, outermost pocket holds pens, little notepad and sundry; this pocket has the volume of a small lunchbox.

    The only downside is this backpack has a waist strap, which is great for preventing back pain but also makes me look like the uber-nerd. Of course the second I open my mouth that's obvious so....

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Wenger messenger

    Had a couple of Wenger rucksacks and have been dissatisfied with the space to keep stuff like pens, memory sticks, business cards although the bags have been brilliant. Best rucksack was a Vango which also had some emotional attachment as I've spent many a stormy night in a Vango Force 10 tent.

    However, the Wenger messenger bag - from Tescos in a voucher deal for £15 - is the best I've ever had. Nice incidental pockets and a couple of deep zip-able pouches you can slip your glasses case, leads bag or phone in safely when you're in a hurry

  43. ajcarr

    Tom Bihn bags

    I use a Tom Bihn Brain Bag rucksack, sometimes with one padded insert for a laptop (it's a bit *too* padded at times and takes up too much space, so I put my laptop in a Tucano neoprene sleeve then). It takes a laptop, Kindle, and iPad with oodles of room to spare. As BSAG put calls the smaller Synapse bag in her review, 'The TARDIS Bag':

    http://www.rousette.org.uk/blog/archives/the-tardis-bag/

    My Brain Bag, even when packed with stuff, is incredibly comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, you won't be able to try one out as you order them directly from the manufacturer in the USA. Oh, the quality of construction is extremely good as well, with nice chunky zips, for example.

  44. OldJerseyGirl
    Devil

    Unexpectedly awesome bag

    Suprisingly enough I foud a great bag with room for two laptops, all the cables you could want, helpful side pockets as well and it seperates into three bags at will so you can leave half your stuff in the office and just carry the one laptop to a meeting in a much smaller bag. It looks terrible though. It's in the IKEA family range, so you are sacrificing all style and street cred to the ability to carry everything.

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: Unexpectedly awesome bag

      I think you mean the UPPTÄCKA bag - it's a roller bag, but the front comes off as a rucksack. Actually a fairly awesome tip - I have indeed varying "loads" depending on what work I do where.

      OK, where is my IKEA discount card..

  45. CADmonkey
    Thumb Up

    Samsonite pro-dlx 142

    Bought this at least 5 years ago and still looks almost new. It did cost $200 but I can travel with my gargantuan 17" Lenovo W700 and it's 1kg power brick.

    http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/merchandising/US/PDFs/W700_Datasheet.pdf

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've used the 5.11 range of backpacks for a while. The "camelbak pocket" is perfect for a laptop (had a 17" in there). They are covered in MOLLE strips which means that I can add and remove extra bags as and when required. Can be easier than trying to find one bag that works for everything.

    As for the A-level; similar to another poster I took one without any input from the school (they just entered me for the exam). Still passed at A grade (no A* in those days). I'd be inclined to order a Syllabus from the Exam Board and if it looks do-able you son could take the exam only.

  47. Irony Deficient

    Tuna, ham, and tomatoes in an onion bagel?

    Best find a bag with a pocket that can be hermetically sealed.

  48. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter

    Alistair I am appalled.

    Why in the name of fuck do you want to waste your kid's time on A level computing ?

    Have you looked at the textbooks ?

    It is not a real subject, that's not just from me a CompSci grad who has done real computing, but the leading universities don't even accept it as an A level at all, putting it in the same shit bucket as PE and Photography A levels.

    (Reading accepts it as an A level, yet another reason not to go there)

    Look at the textbooks, nearly all of it is at the level of general knowledge, whereas even the dumbed down Chemistry and Physics A levels contain words and ideas you simply won't know without studying the subject (delocalised electrons, diffraction, etc). Few if any of these in A level ICT, indeed if you look at the O level books and the A level ones, it is actually quite hard to tell the difference.

    My older kid is 11, and when shown the book was aghast, if at 12he decided to to take this dumb ass subject I'd stop him.

    In defence of drama...

    Being able to talk in public is actually really useful and in my own life drama has helped me earn more money than Chemistry or Biology and waaay more than French,German, and woodwork put together.

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bags again...

    Just a plug for one I got recently.

    For meetings (c.f. the contractor with rolly-luggage) I like something that looks like an actual briefcase. Rectangular, landscape format, with a handle at top middle.

    However, for carrying stuff, a rucksack is essential. Landscape format, with good shoulder straps.

    So, for years, I've been a fan of convertible briefcase/backpacks. Unclip the should straps, stash them in a pocket, and suddenly you're carrying a briefcase, not a rucksack, for your meeting.

    They're surprisingly thin on the ground, but I recently got this one: http://www.techair.co.uk/5105v3.html, from tech air, for about £35.

    As well as 3 main compartments, each big enough for a laptop or even two, it has a ridiculous number of fastening full-size pockets (3 inside, four outside) and loads of odd-stuff pockets. And, it's not actually that huge, when half-full.

    Because bags outlive laptops, and new laptops are always a different size, I gave up on padded interiors, and habitually remove them from bags (scissors, stanley knives..). Even the ueber-technical "air" padding on this one. Instead, I buy one good neoprene zipped cover for each laptop/fragile-tech-item, and put that in whichever bag I need to use.

    For cables and non-fragile stuff, Muji (http://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?V=1&Sec=18&Sub=77) has lots of solutions; see-through bags etc., to keep small and large things from mating in one inseperable rat king in your bag. And velcro cable-ties.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Convertible Briefcase/Rucksack: folding plug

      Replace all standard plugs with plugs where the prongs folds flat.

      ( http://www.maplin.co.uk/slimplug-compact-figure-of-eight-power-lead-99603. Practical, earthed, purchaseable, unlike design award winning vapour-products..)

      (A plug plug..)

      Everything that can be should be USB powered, so get /one/ 8-way powered USB unit, to charge them overnight.

      (btw, I wish the tech air had an expansion zip, to make it a couple of inches deeper, for different loads..)

  50. Nev
    Thumb Up

    Victorinox or Crumpler Bags

    Both brands are up to the job although Crumpler are more photo oriented.

    Recently sent a 10 year old Victorinox laptop briefcase in for repairs as the expansion zip had given up the ghost. (Even after hasty repairs effected a few years back in a hotel room.) I rarely use it these days as the backpack style is safer on the old back.

    I got a call saying, sorry it was unrepairable and they'd be sending a new one instead.

    Can't beat the Victorinox lifetime warranty.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like