Depending on the school and the child, you will have to buy a variety of equipment from pencils to bagpipes. You can expect to have to provide eg stationery, a calculator, a dictionary (even if you are not expected to buy other books), sports equipment and musical instruments. Increasingly you will need to provide a laptop (though some schools have special schemes for supplying these, at least to the sixth form). Boarders will also need their own clothes, suitcases, towels, duvet, clock, games and hobbies equipment.