Up to 1,300 euros per student for textbooks and school supplies : this is the expense that Italian families could face at the start of the 2026/2027 school year, according to calculations by Codacons.
According to initial estimates, backpacks, diaries, and pencil cases, as well as stationery (pens, notebooks, markers, pencils, etc.), are seeing average price increases of between 2% and 4% this year compared to last year, while textbooks are expected to see an average increase of 1.8%.
Retail price lists are increasingly a jungle where families struggle to navigate —Codacons highlights—and, compared to the past, there are frightening differences between basic products and designer or trendy items. A backpack can cost over 200 euros , while a fully equipped pencil case (with pens, pencils, erasers, and markers) can cost up to 60 euros, and a diary can cost nearly 40 euros .
The market also offers increasingly high-tech and expensive products, such as backpacks equipped with LED lights, wireless speakers, and built-in power banks for charging smartphones and other devices. But costs skyrocket for designer products, reaching record levels : there are pencil cases costing over €300, notebooks costing almost €200, pens costing over €500, and even sets of colored pencils costing nearly €600.
Even more impressive are the prices of children's backpacks offered by major fashion brands: some models cost between 500 and 700 euros, while the higher end can reach and exceed 1,000 euros, with peaks of around 1,200 euros for a single backpack. By choosing luxury items, the cost of a complete set can therefore reach unprecedented figures.
According to Codacons' calculations, the total cost for the 2026/2027 school year could reach €1,300 per student, including notebooks, backpacks, diaries, stationery, drawing materials, books, and dictionaries.
(Unioneonline)
