Back to the desk

Late August rearranges the shelves; the backpacks move to the front. For anyone hauling a laptop between lessons, the 691419 keeps a 17.3-inch machine in a padded back and folds an insulated lunch compartment into the same bag — one thing to lose instead of two.

Younger shoulders want the opposite: everything decided at once. The six-piece set, 691432, covers the bag, the pencil case and the odds and ends in one box, which is less a bargain than a spared afternoon.

The bus is the third problem. Headphones are what the search box keeps asking for, and the 691538 from Philips muffles a carriage without much ceremony. The rest of the term's small print sits in the daily pick and the guides.