THOUSANDS of South Cumbrian youngsters will be back at school today – many of them taking their place in a classroom for the first time.

To mark the start of the school year we are looking at some school traditions with pictures from the Mail archive.

The cost of getting youngsters kitted out for school is on the increase with British parents spending a record £1.16 billion last year,

Uniform items for the average child cost £134 - up from£127 in 2017.

Around 45 per cent of that spending is now at supermarkets rather than at traditional school outfitters.

Another £130 million was spent on technology for pupils,including laptops - an increase of £80 million.

Buying for the start of the new school year is said to be the third biggest event in the shopping calendar after Christmas and Black Friday, said analysts Mintel.

Mintel's Samantha Dover said: "Pressure continues to mount on parents to keep up with the latest trends.

"This is moving into new categories like computing."

At the end of August in 2003 the Barrow Asda store had aback-to-school theme to its fun day.

Store greeter Angela Jackson was dressed as a headmistress for the day to shore youngsters and their parents a range of uniform and classroom supplies ready for the new school term.

A 1961 Furness trade directory shows you could have got school shoes from the Rigg Brothers "The house for quality footwear"with branches at Dalton Road, Cavendish Street and Mikasa Street.

For many others, a childhood memory will be going to a branch of Clarks for the novelty of having your feet measured for a first pair of school shoes.

You could have headed to Paxton Terrace, Barrow, to get school note books and drawing equipment from R. Story and Son, booksellers,artists' supplier and stationery.

For uniforms you might well have gone to McDowells in Cavendish Street, Barrow.

In Russia the first day at school is known as Knowledge Day.

Some schools will have a crowd outside with cameras at the ready and new starters give flowers to their teachers.

There is often a family celebration in Kazakhstan for seven-year-olds starting school.

The day is called Tyl Ashar, or Initiation into Education,with a feast of lamb and sweet deserts.

Many pupils in Japan start their first day at school with a backpack called a randoseru and many parents set up a desk in the house dedicated to studies.

In some parts of Germany, school starters get a cone filled with sweets.