Parents 'lying awake at night' worrying about back-to-school costs

According to the Barnardos survey, the average cost of sending a fourth class pupil back to school this September was €320. This rose sharply for a first year entering secondary school at €972, and stood at €863 for a fifth year pupil.

Parents are lying awake at night worrying about how they will afford to send their children back to school this year, with the cost for a first year entering secondary school rising to just under €1,000, a new survey has found.

The results of the annual back-to-school survey by children’s charity Barnardos found that one in four (24%) parents of secondary school children are borrowing from financial institutions or from friends to meet back-to-school costs.