According to VoucherCodesPro.co.uk school uniforms are the biggest expense, with parents of secondary students expecting to spend £116 on the clothing portion of their child’s uniform alone. Footwear and a school bag added an average of £48 and £25 onto the bill, respectively.

Parents with children in primary school, while slightly better off, still expected bills to top £100. The average primary school parent said they have or will spend £137.50 on their child this autumn, including £58 for a school uniform, £23 on stationary and £8 for a lunch box.

Some 33 per cent of parents admitted that they would accumulate debt from back to school costs.

George Charles, spokesperson for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said: “Back to school costs such as these are the last thing a parent needs after what was no doubt a very expensive summer holiday trying to keep the kids entertained. It’s important for parents to shop around and try to get deals at this time of year, perhaps by visiting cheaper high street stores for uniforms, stationary and accessories rather than splashing out with more expensive retailers.”

In addition to uniform and stationary costs 36 per cent of parents with children aged 11 to 16 said they would be buying their children some kind of technological device to help with school, such as a tablet or laptop, to the tune of £278.

Charles added: “If your child is pestering you for a laptop for the homework they will inevitably have to do, try to remember that they probably want it more for Facebook and surfing the web than they do for their research and projects. Besides, the school library will have plenty of facilities like this they can use.”