I've had a parker pen since I started year 10 and i've used it for everything. Last December I bought a 2nd parker to use as a spare. Looked after the first one pretty well and lasted me till only very recently (i'm in A2 now). It died on my cos the 'clicker' stopped working so I just bought a third to replace it. I'm the sort of guy to look after my stuff so I just invested in a nice pen (or three) and take it where ever I go.
These are the two I have and use now (just in case any sad soul like me is interested):
Papermate comformate are very good and comfortable. I'm sure there are cheaper replicas. One pen that was amazing is one from whsmith and it is blue and costs like £3 for one pen but it's good. I bought one but forgot what it's called.
I typed two exams in December for my AS mocks as I broke my right arm which I write with. I used Notepad and I hated it so much but it made me do my work easier and quicker. But I like hand writing a lot.