Getting ready for the new school term is often a rush, as the summer holidays seem to fly by in a flash. At the top of every parent's back to school list (alongside school shoes and a backpack) will be a shiny new pencil case. A good case will keep your child's pencils and crayons organised and protected, as well as look cool.

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To help you choose the best kids' pencil case, we’ve rounded up a suggested list of different designs, including one to help concentration, one to help find things easily and one that includes all the back to school stationery your child will need, to save any extra shopping trips.

Best pencil cases at a glance

  • Best pencil case for fidgety hands: Kaizuca Push Pop Pencil Pouch, £10.99
  • Best pencil case for pop out tools: Tinc Kronk Character Pop Out Pencil Case, £12
  • Best pencil case for finding things quickly: Fruit Pattern Clear Pencil Case, £4.99
  • Best pencil case for exams: Clear Pencil Case 2 Pack, £3.99
  • Best pencil case for personalisation: Rocket & Fox Personalised Pencil Case, £6.50
  • Best pencil case for multiple pockets: Grey and Pink 3 Pocket Pencil Case, £3
  • Best pencil case for sustainability: Recycled Graphic Design Pencil Case, £10.95
  • Best pencil case for durability: Smiggle Pencil Case Hardtop Single Compartment, £11.50
  • Best pencil case for stationery included: Marvel Large Pencil Case Filled with Avengers Stationery, £14.99
  • Best pencil case for older kids: Hype Black and White Fleck Pencil Case, £10.99

Here's our pick of the best kids' pencil cases

1. Kaizuca Push Pop Pencil Pouch, £10.99

– Best for fidgety hands

Kaizuca Push Pop Pencil Pouch

Size: L18.5cm x W9.4cm x D4cm

If your child has fidgety hands and has to fiddle with something to help them concentrate, then this pencil case may be just what you're after. Popping the bubbles of the colourful silicone pencil case can help relieve stress and anxiety and may be beneficial to children with sensory issues.

The silicone it's made from is odourless and durable. It's also super easy to clean: you can just wipe the dirt away. It isn't a very long pencil case, though, so you may need to check all your child's pencils and pen will fit in.

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We'd also advise making sure this style is allowed at your child's school: as it's similar to a fidget popper, some teachers may consider this to be a toy.

Pros: Could help stress and anxiety, easy to clean, comes with cute keyring
Cons: Some schools may not allow the popping design, one of the most expensive on the list, may not be long enough for some pencils and pens

Available from: Amazon

2. Tinc Kronk Character Pop Out Pencil Case, £12

– Best for pop out tools

Tinc Kronk Character Pop Out Pencil Case

Size: L27cm x W10cm x D7cm

This pencil case has an array fun and helpful gadgets built in, including a compass, a pencil sharpener and a pop-out pencil holder. There are buttons on the lid to pop out various compartments and reveal a pencil and eraser, ballpoint pen, 5cm ruler.

With its clever design, everything will be kept together neat and tidy ready to be used.

The pencil case comes in a variety of colours and patterns to best suit your child, each with a different character. We've shown Kronk in black and red, but there are lots of others to choose from including pink, blue and green.

Pros: Fun pop out function, some stationery included, a few designs to choose from
Cons: Cannot fit lots of extra stationery as quite small inside

Available from: Amazon and John Lewis

3. Fruit Pattern Clear Pencil Case, £4.99

– Best for finding things quickly

Fruit pattern Clear Pencil Case

Size: L19cm x W9cm x H10cm

This great-value pencil case is made of transparent PVC, so your child can see the contents inside, making it easy to locate items quickly in class. And the fun fruity patterning makes it a bit more appealing than a completely see-through option (if you'd like one of those, keep scrolling).

This case has a secure zip closure and comes in 2 designs: avocado print and strawberry print.

Do bear in mind that this pencil case isn't the longest, and while that's great for saving space, you'll need to check your child's long pencils or pens will fit in easily.

Pros: Great value, the see-through design makes it easy to find things
Cons: May not be long enough for some pencils and pens

Available from: Amazon

4. Clear Pencil Case 2 Pack, £3.99

– Best for exams

clear pencil case

Size: L20cm x W13cm x D8cm

These aren't the most attractive looking pencil cases but if your child is going to have exams this year then they will be required to have a see-through pencil case.

This is big enough to fit everything your child needs for exams, including a calculator, and they will be able to find what they need quickly so they don't waste their very precious exam time. Plus, it doubles as a useful bag for liquids at the airport if you're planning on flying anywhere soon.

Pros: Suitable for exams, easy to find things and fit a lot in
Cons: No patterns or fun designs, no extra pockets

Available from: Amazon

5. Rocket & Fox Personalised Pencil Case, £6.50

– Best for personalisation

Rocket & Fox Personalised Pencil Case

Size: L21cm x W14cm

There are probably a lot of children in school, so it's highly likely your child will have the same pencil case as someone else. With a personalised pencil case, they'll be able to easily distinguish theirs and not worry about someone picking it up and mistaking it for their own (unless, of course, they have a very popular name).

There are 2 colours on offer in this range: navy with a red pencil or red with a navy pencil, and both come with a top zip and plenty of room for all the essentials. As it's a fabric case, it can also be washed.

Whichever colour you choose, your child's name will be personalised in white text. Do note that if your child has a longer name, the text size will be slightly smaller to fit it in, up to a maximum of 12 characters.

Pros: Easy to distinguish, fun and personal
Cons: Only 2 colours available, 12 character limit

Available from: Not On The High Street

6. Grey and Pink 3 Pocket Pencil Case, £3

– Best for multiple pockets

Grey and Pink 3 Pocket Pencil Case

Size: L22.4cm x W17cm

Despite being one of the most affordable pencil cases on this list, this multi-pocket design is really well thought out and convenient for your child to store – and locate – all their school supplies quickly and easily.

Made of soft-touch cotton, it has three pockets in grey, black and pink, and an easy zip closure. Use the different sized pockets to keep different items organised: the small front pocket is great for pencil sharpeners and erasers while the larger ones will hold colouring pencils, rulers and a calculator.

The light fabrics may stain quicker than some others on the list, but as it's fabric you can wash it if needed. Just be careful not to overstuff it as the seams may not be as hardwearing for plastic or metal case.

Pros: Multiple pockets, great value
Cons: Fabric not as durable as some materials

Available from: The Works

7. Recycled Graphic Design Pencil Case, £10.95

– Best for sustainability

Recycled Graphic Design Pencil Case

Size: L23cm x W7cm

This pencil case is both sustainable and stylish: it's made from 100% recycled cotton canvas that's been screen printed by hand using eco-friendly dyes.

To make sure it's durable, there's heavy duty zip and as an added personal extra you can choose to add a letter charm, whether that be to match your name or anything you like.

There are lots of colours to choose from too; grey, mustard, teal, turquoise, mint and pink.

The only downside is the size: this pencil case is not the largest so if your child has a lot of stationery you may need something slightly bigger to hold all their belongings.

Pros: Sustainable, heavy duty zip for durability and lots of colours to choose from
Cons: May be a bit too small for lots of stationery and on the more expensive side

Available from: Not On The High Street and Etsy

8. Smiggle Pencil Case Hardtop Single Compartment, £11.50

– Best for durability

Smiggle Pencil Case Hardtop Single Compartment

Size: L21cm x W15cm x D4.5cm

For a durable pencil case that stands a chance of lasting the whole school year, Smiggle's hard top pencil case is ideal. The hard top can be easily wiped down if it gets dirty and the zipped compartment with double zips keeps all your child's belongings safe and secure.

Inside the pencil case there is a mesh pocket and pen holder where your child can organise everything neatly. However, as the pencil case has a hard top this does mean it cannot be squished into a bag as easily as others and will take up more space.

The top of the pencil case has a fun 3D design and there are lots of options, from ice cream, unicorns and mermaids to spaceships.

Pros: Durable, lots of compartments, fun prints
Cons: Quite large to fit into a school bag

Available from: Amazon

9. Marvel Large Pencil Case Filled with Avengers Stationery, £14.99

– Best for stationery included

Marvel Large Pencil Case Filled with Avengers Stationary

Size: L20.1cm x W14.3cm x D5.9cm

With this Marvel option, you don't just get a fun pencil case but you get all the stationery to go with it too. It's a very similar size and shape to the Smiggle pencil case, but with a soft printed design featuring Marvel's Avengers.

The fun pencil case includes everything your child needs for school and means you don't have to scour the shops for all that back to school stationery. Inside you get 10 coloured pencils, a ball point pen, a protractor, a pencil sharpener, 8 felt tip pens, a set square, a 15cm ruler, an eraser and a pair of safety scissors. All this is organised in holders and stored safely with a strong zip – no chance of it easily being pulled off when trying to cram everything in.

Much like the Smiggle pencil case this is a large option and would require a fairly large school bag if you want to easily fit it in along with everything else needed for school.

Pros: Comes with stationery, holders to organise it
Cons: Is quite large and would take up quite a bit of room in school bag

Available from: Amazon

10. Hype Black and White Fleck Pencil Case, £10.99

– Best for older kids

Hype Back and White Fleck Pencil Case

Size: L21cm x W21cm

For older kids, this stylish Hype black and white fleck pencil case is a slightly more stylish and mature choice. Hype is really popular right now and will make your child feel cool with its subtle design, moulded brand logo and chunky zip with faux leather zip pull.

The pencil case also has a convenient carry handle to make carrying it around school that bit easier. The inside is lined with a black nylon material that can be easily wiped clean.

Pros: Stylish, trendy and easy to keep clean
Cons: One of the more expensive options

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Available from: WHSmith

How did we choose our 10 of the Best?

When testing and selecting the best pencil cases for kids, we considered value, practicality, durability, appearance and fun added features.

Our 10 of the Best lists are compiled by qualified and experienced parenting journalists. They rely on a number of sources, including our independent reviews, testing undertaken during the MadeForMums Awards, and feedback from our home testing panel and Top Testers Club. Each year thousands of products are put through their paces by hundreds of parents across the country on behalf of MadeForMums, to ensure we’re bringing you honest and true reviews and recommendations.

Our list is not an ordered ranking from 1-10, instead it is a carefully selected group of tried-and-tested products, each of which we believe is best for a different situation or requirement. We don't just tell you what is best, we help you discover what is best for your family.

About the author

Chloe is a Digital Reviews Writer and Coordinator for Immediate Media's Parenting team. She researches and writes articles, recommending the best products for parents, ranging from best sleep aids to best playpens. She has a First-Class Honours Psychology degree where she developed a strong interest in child development.

Authors

Picture of Chloe Brightwell
Chloe BrightwellDigital Reviews Writer and Coordinator

Chloe is a Digital Reviews Writer and Coordinator for Immediate Media's Parenting team, specialising in household and trying to help parents save money. She researches and writes articles, recommending the best products, ranging from best cordless vacuums to best playpens. She has a First-Class Honours Psychology degree where she developed a strong interest in child development. During her teenage years she worked as a play worker and Brownie volunteer to support children's play.

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