St Julian’s school currently runs a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) program for all students in Years 10-13. This program requires that all students must bring a device to school to enrich their learning and access online resources and learning environments in the classroom.  These devices are owned and managed by the students. 

The choice of laptop is often down to user preferences.  It can often seem as if there is a confusing array of devices available. 

As a school we would generally recommend that students bring a MacBook Air to school. St. Julian's through a partnership offers up to a 10% discount for Apple products. More details on that can be seen here.  If you are buying a new laptop this would be our recommended purchase. 

However we also recognise that a student may prefer to use another platform or may already have another type of laptop and this is perfectly acceptable as long as it conforms to the general requirements set out in the pages linked below. 

This is the brains of the computer and will have a big influence on the performance and "speed" of your laptop. You should be looking at least for an Apple M1 Chip, Intel i5 or comparable AMD Ryzen 5 chip to get a good balance between performance and cost.  You will get more productivity with i9 or Ryzen 9 CPUs but they are a lot more expensive. 

RAM or random access memory is the memory your computer uses when it is running. The more RAM you have the more programs you can use at the same time.  Ideally you will want at least 8GB of RAM even on a budget system and 16GB is preferable if you are willing to spend a little more. 16GB will allow the device to run a number of programs and also future proof a purchase. 

If you can afford it you should consider purchasing a solid state drive (SSD) rather than a traditional hard disk drive (HDD). You will really notice the difference in speed. Considering that most documents and files can now be stored online in Google Drive then the size of this disk is not as important as it used to be.  Bear in mind though if you are expecting to do a lot of video or multimedia work then you should be considering at least 500GB which offers a good balance between price and capacity. 

The more pixels you have the better the image will be. Many budget laptops still have display of 1366*768 but it is recommended that the resolution is at least 1920x1080 which is also know as Full HD or 1080p. Higher resolutions will look great but will consume a lot more power. 

If you are not playing PC games creating 3D images or doing high end video recording then the integrated graphics chips should be fine.  Make sure though if you are saving costs on the CPU that the integrated graphics chip is suitable .  

Whilst not normally a deal breaker it is worth considering what you want to plug into your laptop and what you want to connect it to. For USB ports is is better to look out for USB C connections which makes it easier to connect to chargers and docks. You will also need good headphone sockets. 

If you want a laptop with the latest and best connections then look out for WiFi 6 which offers much faster speed and stability than the 802.11 ac. If you have a lot of Bluetooth devices it is recommended to look out for a laptop with Bluetooth 5. 

This is often the most challenging elements for students and many of our students run out of power during the day because they have not charged their device or their laptop doesn't not have a good battery life. 

In order to avoid being on the hunt for a charging point all day and to avoid carrying around a bulky charger you should look for a laptop with at least 7 hours of endurance. Don't take the manufacturer's word for it either. Always check online results from trusted review sites. 

The laptop is often only as good as the company that made it. You will often need to contact support. Brands such as Razer, Apple , Alienware, Microsoft, Google, HP,  Samsung, Dell etc.  all have a reputation for good support.