Branded Merchandise for Schools and Colleges: What Works and How to Order

The branded merchandise that works best for schools and colleges is what pupils, students and families use and keep, so pens and pencils, bags, water bottles, lanyards and notebooks cover most occasions. At Hotline, a school can see its logo on the product with a free Visual Proof™ before anyone signs off, and schools, councils, universities and other government-backed organisations can pay on a 30-day credit account by giving an official purchase order number when they order online.

This guide takes each occasion in turn, then how a school orders.

What do schools and colleges use branded merchandise for?

Schools and colleges use branded merchandise for a handful of occasions each year: open evenings and recruitment, new students and inductions, sports days and trips, leavers and celebrations, thank-yous for staff, and PTA fundraising. For each one, the test in our General Questions FAQs holds: something students will use during the day and keep afterwards.

Our Back to School collection gathers the range for schools, colleges and universities in one place.

What works for open evenings and recruitment events?

Something to carry the prospectus home in and something to write with. The Express Cotton Tote Bags are 5oz cotton, screen printed on one side, and their page calls them our most popular reusable promotional bag. The Classic Printed Drawstring Bags are screen printed on the front, and their page says they're "Perfect for sports clubs, schools and gym promotions".

To write with, the Printed HB Pencil is screen printed at the top end, and our guide to choosing the right promotional pen covers pens.

Browse Personalised Drawstring Bags and [Personalised Printed Pencils]https://www.hotline.co.uk/categories/pens-and-pencils/pencils-c003) for more, or see our guide to choosing promotional products for an event.

What works for new students and inductions?

Lanyards for ID cards come first. The Triple Safety Break Full Colour Lanyard - 20mm is printed in full colour on both sides and, as its page says, supplied with three safety breaks as standard. Our Printed Lanyards category recommends the 25mm Lanyard Detachable Buckle Break-Away Closure for schools and colleges.

Then a notebook, a ruler and a bottle, which students use every day. The Printed Rulers - 150mm - Full Colour print are printed in full colour, and their page suggests them for schools. Browse Branded Notebooks for notebooks and Branded Stationery for rulers, pencil cases and more.

For colleges and universities, our Freshers Week Merchandise collection groups the usual freshers' items, and our idea on branded lanyards and badges covers lanyards.

What works for younger pupils, sports days and trips?

For younger pupils, go by what each product page says. The Recycled Plastic Kids Safety Pop Badge is made of 100% recycled plastic, and its page describes it as a child friendly pin badge that pops into place, with no sharp pin fitting.

For trips, the Marie Xs Safety Vest With Hook&Loop For Kids Age 7-12 is a high visibility vest sized for children aged 7 to 12, which its page says is tested and certified under EN 1150:1999. The Odile Xxs Safety Vest With Hook&Loop For Kids Age 3-6 covers ages 3 to 6, and its page names the same standard.

For sports days, the Thirst Grip Bottle Push-Pull Lid 500ml is made in the UK with a BPA free bottle and lid, as its page says, and it's the bottle in our Economics Olympiad case study. The Marathon Fold up Bottle has a white strip above the print area for writing a name on, and its page suggests it for schools or sports classes.

Browse Personalised Plastic Sports Bottles, or see our idea on branded sports bottles for gyms, events and teams. For family events, the Streaks 8-Piece Colouring Set comes with a colouring book, and its page warns it isn't suitable for children under three.

What works for leavers, celebrations and staff?

Hoodies work for leavers, notebooks and pens for prize days, and a thank-you gift for staff at the end of term or at Christmas. Leavers' hoodies are the slowest school order to organise, because collecting everyone's sizes takes time, and our guide to organising company hoodies covers how to collect them.

For staff, our idea on Christmas gifts for staff has ideas by budget.

How can a PTA raise money with branded merchandise?

A PTA can sell branded merchandise at a school fair or give it to its helpers. Our guide to promotional products for charity events and fundraisers covers what to sell and what to give away, and for the Christmas fair, our Christmas range has festive products to sell or give as prizes.

How does a school order and pay at Hotline?

Upload your school's logo or crest when you request your free Visual Proof™. A vector file gives the cleanest result, a clear JPEG or PNG is fine to start with, and you can add Pantone references to match your school colours.

Your Visual Proof™ shows the logo on the product with the price for your quantity and the delivery date, so whoever approves the spend or the use of the logo can see exactly what they're agreeing to. Our in-house designers usually send it back in around 20 minutes during working hours. If more than one person signs off, share your basket with them as one link.

Schools, councils, universities and other government-backed organisations can pay with an official purchase order on a 30-day credit account. Choose the existing customer credit account option at checkout and enter your PO number, or upload your PO with your order reference in our Support Centre, then settle the balance within 30 days of the invoice date. Our payment and pricing FAQs and ordering FAQs have the detail.

Anyone can also pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or BACS, and other organisations can apply for a credit account after a first order paid by card, subject to approval and eligibility.

How do you make sure it arrives in term time?

Check the delivery date on the product page before you order: it's guaranteed on Standard and Express delivery, and estimated on Free No-Rush. The one exception is BACS: if you pay that way, the date moves forward each working day until your payment clears.

It's a delivery by date, so your order can arrive before it, and we can't book a specific day. So choose a date when the school office will be open in the days before it, rather than one in or just after a holiday or half term.

Your local council publishes your term and holiday dates, and the school term and holiday dates page on GOV.UK finds your council's page from your postcode, for schools in England and Wales (correct as at November 2026).

Each order goes to one delivery address, so have it delivered to the school rather than an off-site venue. Our article on guaranteed delivery dates and our delivery and returns FAQs cover the rest.

Can a school order small quantities?

Often, yes, which suits an order for one form group, one team or one staff room. Each product has its own minimum quantity, shown on the product page and on your Visual Proof™, and we've printed runs of 50, such as the drawstring bags for Wessex Volleyball Club's junior taster sessions, which we sponsored.

If a minimum is higher than you need, compare other products to find one with a lower minimum, as our General Questions FAQs suggest.

Branded merchandise for each school occasion

What tends to work for each occasion, and where to find it.

To start, browse our Back to School collection and request a free Visual Proof™ with your school's logo.