Device for 6th form and GCSEs

Hi!
An iPad is the best Apple (and tablet judging by all the reviews) investment you can get for STEM, in my opinion. I have pretty much every device Apple offers, and I can say if you're looking for an affordable investment, an iPad is the way to go.
I know, Apple is expensive, but you have to consider these as investments. I'll assume you want to go for an 11-inch M2 iPad Air. This is an incredibly powerful iPad, and definitely one I recommend. It's typically £599, but with UNiDAYS (which you can get access to if you use a college ID and manually take photos of the college ID or use someone else's), you can pay £549 AND get an £80 gift card during the student summer promotion period which occurs every year (enough to cover the cost of the USB-C Apple Pencil!). You can't use the gift card on the iPad purchase, unfortunately.
However, the positive is you basically get a free pencil! I'll also assume you intend on using this very iPad for your sixth form duration, and your degree (~6 years), and with maintenance you can definitely make it last that long.
Upgrading storage will cost more, but you can also pay for extra iCloud to limit your storage use.
It's a big chunk of money to throw onto a device, but an iPad is versatile and helpful. If there's one device you buy, it should be an iPad. You can also pay for a bluetooth keyboard (since the Apple ones are disgustingly expensive) and that can double as a laptop in a way, and then you can type up your practicals and essays etc.
BackMarket is very reliable, I would advise buying excellent quality since you want to prolong the lifespan of the device so it'll last you through university, too. It's a big cost for a long-term benefit.
An iPad is a multi-purpose device, and it has saved me so much money in printing and saved my back from carrying so many folders and books because I can digitise it. I was able to do past papers in the car, in bed etc. when I felt lazy or couldn't be at my desk.
It's convenient, reliable, and durable.
Happy to answer more questions!

Thanks this is really reassuring. I have a question about the model of iPad to get. You mentioned the M2 iPad Air, and I was wondering about the improvements over slightly older models. The 2020 iPad Air in excellent condition is around £441 on back market, rather than the £550-600 of the M2. But as you said I would need this iPad to last for a substantial number of years, so would it be better to get the newer model?

The 2020 iPad Air has, I believe, the A14 chip, which is okay. However, given the price it may be worth upping the investment a little more to the 2022 M1 iPad Air, which a space grey 64GB excellent quality model on BackMarket is £418 (linked below) unless you want a bigger storage.
The Apple silicon chips (Mwhatevers) are total beasts and you won't encounter issues when using them. This is also probably the best choice full stop given you won't really ever reach the full power of the M1 chip when using it, so it'd be a little redundant to pay more for the more advanced chips (M2 in the 2022 iPad Pro model and the M4 in the new iPad Pro)
I would advise more to the silicon chip types of iPads because they'll be more durable and long-lasting so you won't encounter issues over time.
You can also buy the 2nd generation Apple Pencil for £75 in excellent condition, a refreshing discount from £139! I'll link it below if you're interested in buying that, too. I believe you can pay in instalments using Klarna!
Hope this helps!
https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/p/ipad-air-5-2022-hdd-64-gb-space-gray-wi-fi/ba8b6c51-5aa3-4507-a065-4b8d5e477198#l=10&scroll=false
https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/p/pencil-2-white/61140eaa-cd70-4e69-b4aa-daa69036997a#l=10

Thanks I think I’ll wait until my laptop finally gives up (pretty soon) and then get the M1. Just to reassure myself, are you sure it’s not worth getting the M2 for future proofing? Thanks as well for all the deals you sent they’re lifesavers

You can, it does come with a bigger base storage of 128GB BUT the M1 iPad Air on BackMarket is still cheaper at £543 with 256GB (so you get more storage for less) and often over time with all the storage updates and apps piling background storage on, the storage is what clogs up an iPad and causes it to slow over time.
If you do also want a bigger screen, the M2 iPad Air is in a 13 inch option (same size as a standard MacBook screen) then there's that too, but it costs more.
It's entirely up to you, I've put a link below which lets you pick iPad models to compare the tech specs between each other so you can have help deciding. The iPads you've finalised(?) your decision between are the M2 11-inch iPad Air and the iPad Air (5th generation) and I've put on the 13-inch M2 iPad Air if it is of interest to you.
As for the pencil, the 2nd generation is excellent, I like the pencil feeling and how it magnetically charges when attached to the side. If you go for the more economically-friendly USB-C option, it does lack features including that magnetic charging since you have to charge it with a wire, but it's cheaper so can be more appealing.
Also happy to help discuss any apps you'd be interested in getting on the iPad for education and things of that sort.
The keyboards, even on BackMarket, are still stupidly priced. I'd recommend highly rated Amazon ones.
https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-air-11-m2,ipad-air-5th-gen,ipad-air-13-m2

Thanks so much for all your help it’s been really helpful in deciding what to do. I’m all good in terms of apps I’ve asked around with friends at my school, and I’ll probably go with the M1 with 256 GB like you said. Thanks again you’ve been brilliant

Thanks so much for all your help it’s been really helpful in deciding what to do. I’m all good in terms of apps I’ve asked around with friends at my school, and I’ll probably go with the M1 with 256 GB like you said. Thanks again you’ve been brilliant

Hello
Do you have any updates on your iPad purchase?
Can you share your experiences? I am also in a dilemma regarding this topic

Yeah sure. I ended up going with the M2 iPad Air and it’s been amazing. Works perfectly for everything I need and I can use it for all kinds of online homework as well as streaming films and shows. I personally don’t have a pen but I borrowed one from a friend and it was a great experience. I’d heavily recommend a keyboard though it makes things a lot easier. IMO it can do everything that I needed my laptop for and it’s great for a GCSE student (won’t know about A levels until next year though but I still firmly believe the iPad is the best choice)

Did you purchase it on back market ? If you used other site can you please provide the name and with the price . Btw thank you for answering