It’s true what they always say: cherish your school life before it’s gone forever. As a student, school may have seemed tiring and mundane, but I’m sure every graduated kid has at least one fond memory from their schooling days. Perhaps it’s that one prankster who always cracked the class up with his jokes or the colourful stationery you used to make studying a tad more fun.
We needed basic supplies to survive school, but that doesn’t mean they had to be plain and boring. On today’s trip down memory lane, let’s revisit some iconic school supplies you may have pestered your mom to buy in the 2010s because everyone else in your class had them.
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Peep the pink bag I carried in P1.
Image credit: Kelly Lai
These obnoxiously bright-coloured school bags are as loud as their names. The POP KIDS Basic 2 Ergonomic School Backpack was carried by every P1 and P2 kid back then. It’s almost as if we walked into Popular with our parents, collectively laid eyes on this one backpack, and called it a day.
Imagine young children utterly new to the education system; we tend to overpack. The bag fits a ton of stuff, which is great, but the problem comes when it becomes incredibly bulky. I rolled down 3 stairs at the MRT station because my 7-year-old self couldn’t handle the weight of this bag.
Buy it from Popular ($89.90).
Image adapted from: @blupooes via Carousell
If the USA has Lisa Frank, then Singapore has Smiggle. Their hardtop pencil cases had all primary school students and their friends in a chokehold.
We fell in love with the bright, mismatched colour combinations. Along with the bubble-looking top and book-like shape, this attracted almost all students from ages 9-12. The massive pencil case had netted holders and pen organisers, easily fitting all our barang barang.
It was pretty bulky and took up space in our bags, though it was a sacrifice we were willing to make to have cute school supplies.
Buy it from Smiggle ($27.95).
Image credit: Ange Preston via Pinterest
An honourable mention has to go to these OG pencil cases which walked so the Smiggle ones could run. It settled all our stationery needs. There was a built-in sharpener, eraser storage, pencil strap holders, and even a back compartment.
It was indeed the Transformers of pencil cases.
Image adapted from: Ink and Lead | Stationary via Pinterest
The Sarasa 0.5mm gel pens were and are still the holy grail for students. Writing with it felt smooth like butter and the ink didn’t smudge; a saving grace for left-handed people. The catch was that it had to be 0.5mm. 0.7mm is too thick, and don’t even bother about the 1.0mm tips.
We moved away from the basic blue and black inks and were introduced to… drumroll please… blue-black. That’s right; it’s the perfect balance between the usual colours we were allowed to use to write.
Honestly, it’s a solid pen brand that I still use today.
Buy it from Amazon ($17.82 for a pack of 20).
Image credit: Pilot Pen Australia
Moving from using pencils to pens was like an upgrade, and since we’re on the topic of pens, we can’t forget the Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens, which took us by storm with their innovation.
Worksheets started looking much neater without the random streaks of correction tape. This pen also helped save paper space, especially for students who didn’t own a correction tape and had to strike out their mistakes.
While we all wanted our hands on this remarkable invention, many realised it wasn’t all that after some time. It was a tad tricky to erase cleanly and required a fair bit of force, which often left smudges and small tears in our papers.
Buy it from Amazon ($9.70 for a pack of 3).
Image adapted from: SHIEN Singapore
These expandable folders were like Doraemon’s limitless 4D pocket and could fit so many worksheets for all the subjects we had. It also did its job, which was to keep track of my homework since I always forgot my stuff.
The trick was not to keep your folders in your bag. Instead, carrying it around after school to flaunt that you’re a super organised student was the way to go.
Buy it from Popular ($9.90).
Image credit: Shopee Malaysia
I’m not sure why, but carrying our books around in hand was a trend back then. Maybe to alleviate the weight on our backs? Either way, plus points if you had a colourful neon book strap to hold everything together so you wouldn’t drop whatever you were carrying.
We often spotted our friends whipping this out after school to strap all their textbooks and files together. However, I think that it didn’t really do much to secure my stuff; they would still slide back and forth all the time.
Buy it from Shopee ($2.85).
Oh boy, do the wallet coil keychains bring back memories. We didn’t have to beg our moms for this one. They got it for us instead so we wouldn’t lose our wallets that easily.
I swear, almost every student had this little spring dangling out of their pockets. It’s simple to use; hook it onto your wallet and pants, and you’re good to go for the whole day. Something annoying is that the coils get loose easily, and friends are often spotted having wallet fights with this, kind of like a catapult. Trust kids to turn anything into a toy to play with.
These are useful even for grown-ups, especially while travelling, considering it’s a great way to deter thieves from pickpocketing.
Buy it from Shopee ($1.50).
Image credit: Zebra Pen Corporation
Mildliners were available in every colour you could think of, and then some. Unlike the usual bright neon highlighters, these were in soft pastel colours or slightly darker saturated colours, making highlighting much more enjoyable.
Our worksheets usually looked like the rainbow puked all over them because of how colourful they were. We highlighted everything, regardless of whether the information was essential or not.
These highlighters retailed at $1.95 back then, which was pricey for primary school students, but they were so worth it.
Buy it from Amazon ($23.88 for a pack of 10).
Image credit: Champion Sports Singapore
The squeezy water bottles were the best investments for students, especially if they were involved in a sports CCA. The Nike ones that came in various colours were especially popular. You could grab the bottle and take a sip without opening or closing it.
Kids often also used this as a sprinkler to squeeze water into their faces. It’s pretty refreshing after an intense sports game or PE session.
I don’t know, but I’ve always gotten the ick for these types of bottles; they feel really dirty and give me the heebie-jeebies because the drinking nozzle was exposed to the world.
Buy it from Champion Sports ($20.90).
Image credit: Amazon.sg
I have to save the best for last: Geronimo Stilton – the mouse that everyone knew and loved. This series was the top choice for primary school kids back then.
I could see why we were so obsessed with them. The illustrations, along with the bolded and colourful words, actually made reading fun. Our teachers, however, did not agree, and we often got nagged at for reading Geronimo Stilton at P6. According to them, they aren’t the most enriching books to read.
Buy it from Amazon ($65 for 10 books).
Image adapted from: @lawrenl via Carousell, PopularOnline
Other local book series that we were obsessed with as kids were Mr Midnight and True Singapore Ghost Stories. These horror stories were creepy, but not overly scary to the point that it would keep us up past midnight.
Studying was so much more tolerable with these iconic school supplies around. If you recall having any of these in primary school, congrats! You probably didn’t even know you were the coolest kid walking around school.
For more school-related articles:
Cover image adapted from: Zebra Pen Corporation, @thej_s79 & @blupooes via Carousell, Kelly Lai
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