10 of the best pencil cases for school

For other back to school essentials, we’ve also found the best lunch boxes, best kids’ water bottles and best school uniform to help you get children first-day ready. And to make sure your child's belongings don't go missing, we also have a round up of the best name labels.

If you've still got to do some school shopping, we've also rounded up the best back to school sales we could find from UK retailers.

Best pencil cases at a glance

• Best pencil case for fidgety hands: Kaizuca Push Pop Pencil Pouch, £5.99
• Best pencil case for pop out tools: Tinc Kronk Character Pop Out Pencil Case, £12
• Best pencil case for finding things quickly: Cute Pencil Pouch with Fruit Pattern, £8.99
• 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, £6.57
• Best pencil case for durability: Smiggle Pencil Case Hardtop Single Compartment, £17.99
• Best pencil case for stationery included: Marvel Large Pencil Case Filled with Avengers Stationery, £13.99
• 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, £5.99

– Best for fidgety hands

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

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

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.

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.

Available from: Amazon

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

– Best for pop out tools

Size: L27cm x W10cm x D7cm

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

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.

Available from: Amazon and John Lewis

3. Cute Pencil Pouch with Fruit Pattern, £8.99

– Best for finding things quickly

Size: L19cm x W9cm x H10cm

Pros:

• Great value
• The see-through design makes it easy to find things

Cons:

• May not be long enough for some pencils and pens

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.

Available from: Amazon

4. Clear Pencil Case 2 Pack, £3.99

– Best for exams

Size: L20cm x W13cm x D8cm

Pros:

• Suitable for exams
• Easy to find things and fit a lot in

Cons:

• No patterns or fun designs, no extra pockets

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.

Available from: Amazon

5. Rocket & Fox Personalised Pencil Case, £6.50

– Best for personalisation

Size: L21cm x W14cm

Pros:

• Easy to distinguish
• Fun and personal

Cons:

• Only 2 colours available
• 12 character limit

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.

Available from: Not On The High Street

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

– Best for multiple pockets

Size: L22.4cm x W17cm

Pros:

• Multiple pockets
• Great value

Cons:

• Fabric not as durable as some materials

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.

Available from: The Works

7. Recycled Graphic Design Pencil Case, £6.57

– Best for sustainability

Size: L23cm x W7cm

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

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.

Available from: Not On The High Street and Etsy

8. Smiggle Pencil Case Hardtop Single Compartment, £17.99

– Best for durability

Size: L21cm x W15cm x D4.5cm

Pros:

• Durable
• Lots of compartments
• Fun prints

Cons:

• Quite large to fit into a school bag

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.

Available from: Amazon

9. Marvel Large Pencil Case Filled with Avengers Stationery, £13.99

– Best for stationery included

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

Pros:

• Comes with stationery
• Holders to organise it

Cons:

• Is quite large and would take up quite a bit of room in school bag

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.

Available from: Amazon

10. Hype Black and White Fleck Pencil Case, £9.99

– Best for older kids

Size: L21cm x W21cm

Pros:

• Stylish
• Easy to keep clean

Cons:

• One of the more expensive options

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.

Available from: Amazon