The Devices I Wish I’d Had at School: Mark Ellis on Student Tech, Then vs. Now

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I grew up in a household where “school tech” meant a shared family computer in the corner of the living room, a printer that jammed on every third page, and, if you were lucky, a graphical calculator that cost your parents more than they’d like to admit. There was no laptop, no tablet, no noise-cancelling anything. Research meant the school library or phoning a mate who’d already done their homework.

Fast-forward to today, and according to a recent Back Market survey, 88% of parents say their child actively demands the latest device before the school year even starts – and 74% of kids are armed with the classic line: “everyone else’s parents bought them one.” It’s a different world. But here’s the thing: it’s also a genuinely better world for students, and it doesn’t have to cost as much as you might fear.

This is my honest look back – and forward – at the tech I used, the tech I wished I had, and what I’d actually buy today if I were heading back to school.

The Laptop I Never Had

When essays moved from handwritten to typed, I worked on whatever was available – slow, shared, and absolutely not mine. I remember queuing to use a machine that took four minutes to boot and had a mouse that only worked on one side of the mat. Nobody had their own laptop. You drafted things in longhand and typed them up later, which sounds almost quaint now.

Today, a student laptop isn’t a luxury – it’s the central tool. And the good news is that you don’t need to spend new-laptop money to get something genuinely excellent. A refurbished MacBook Air – the kind of machine I now use professionally and couldn’t live without – is available on Back Market from well under what a new one costs. If you’d prefer Windows, there are ThinkPads and Dell XPS models that will absolutely hold their own through six years of education and beyond.

If I were buying for a school-age version of myself, I’d go refurbished MacBook Air without hesitation. It’s light, quiet, the battery lasts all day, and it handles everything from essays to creative projects. Paired with Back Market’s Campus+ student and teacher discount, the price becomes genuinely hard to argue with.

Thinking about which MacBook is right for a student? We’ve done the legwork. Check out our MacBook Air vs Pro definitive guide for more.

The Tablet That Would’ve Changed Revision

Revision, for me, meant index cards, highlighters, and a stack of photocopied past papers that I inevitably lost. There was no single device where I could annotate a document, record a voice note, watch an explainer video, and then quiz myself – all in the same session, in the same place.

An iPad changes that completely. I don’t say this as someone who reviews tech for a living and has therefore lost perspective – I say it as someone who has watched younger family members use one through school and seen the difference it makes to how they organise and retain information. A refurbished iPad, even one that’s a generation or two old, runs all the apps a student needs without complaint. Apple Pencil support, split-screen multitasking, access to every major note-taking and revision app – it’s the revision tool I’d hand my younger self if I could.

Refurbished iPads on Back Market start at prices that would make the device genuinely accessible rather than a stretch, and because they go through up to a 100-point inspection and come with a one-year warranty, you’re not gambling on quality.

Not sure which iPad to go for? We’ve compared the full range. Read our best iPad to buy guide for more.

Audio and Focus

The earphones I used at school came free with a phone that wasn’t very good, and they hurt after twenty minutes. Nobody talked about focus tools, study playlists, or the science of concentration. You either worked in noise or you didn’t.

It’s a small upgrade in the grand scheme of a school-tech budget, but I think decent headphones or earphones make a real difference to a student’s ability to get into – and stay in – a working mindset. A refurbished pair of AirPods, Sony noise-cancellers, or similar on Back Market costs a fraction of new retail. It’s the kind of thing where the gap between “cheap, uncomfortable, disposable” and “actually good” is maybe £40–£60 refurbished. Worth it.

The Thing I Wish Had Existed

There wasn’t a version of a smartwatch that made sense when I was at school – not even close. My watch told the time and that was considered sufficient. But the ability to get a quiet nudge about a deadline, check a timetable without pulling out a phone, or track how long I’d actually spent on something – that kind of ambient, low-friction organisation would have suited my brain very well.

A refurbished Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch from Back Market brings that kind of functionality to a student without demanding a flagship price. They’re not an essential in the way a laptop is, but they’re the device I’d have genuinely loved as a teenager, and they’re now accessible enough that they don’t feel like an indulgence.

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What’s Genuinely Better Now (And Cheaper Than You’d Think)

Here’s my honest take: today’s students have access to tools that would have felt like science fiction when I was doing GCSEs. The combination of cloud storage, collaborative apps, AI study tools, and genuinely excellent hardware has transformed what’s possible. The question was always cost – but that’s shifting too.

Refurbished tech is up to 50% cheaper than new. That’s not a rounding error – that’s the difference between a device being out of reach and being manageable. And for the 75% of parents who told Back Market they worry about the environmental impact of buying new tech, refurbished isn’t just a financial decision. Every device bought refurbished is a device that doesn’t contribute to the pile of e-waste that the tech industry generates at an alarming rate.

Nearly half of parents in that same survey think their kids won’t even notice the difference between refurbished and new. From what I’ve seen, they’re right – and in many cases, a well-chosen refurbished device is objectively better than a budget new one at the same price.

Why I’d Buy Refurbished for a Student

I review tech for a living. I use new devices constantly. And when it comes to buying for a student – whether that’s my own family or advising someone else – I would choose refurbished every time, and specifically through a platform like Back Market.

The reason isn’t just price, though that matters enormously. It’s trust. The Back Market Promise means every device has been inspected by a certified refurbisher, comes with a minimum one-year warranty, and has a 30-day return window. That’s not a compromise – that’s a quality standard. Add the Campus+ discount for students and teachers, and you’ve got flagship-level hardware, at student-budget prices, with proper peace of mind built in.

When I was at school, the dream was to have the right tools to do the work properly. Today, that’s genuinely possible – and it doesn’t require spending new-retail prices to get there.

Curious how the M4 MacBook Air holds up as a daily driver? We spent serious time with it. Read our M4 MacBook Air review for more.

The Bottom Line

The best student tech isn’t the newest – it’s the right device at the right price, bought from somewhere you can trust. A refurbished MacBook Air for writing and research, an iPad for notes and revision, a decent pair of headphones to actually focus, and maybe a smartwatch if the budget stretches – that’s a setup that would have changed my experience of school entirely.

If you want the full breakdown of which devices to consider by category, head to our student tech buying guide. Or browse Back Market directly and see what’s available – the Campus+ discount is worth looking for before you buy anything.

Shop Refurbished Student Tech on Back Market!