The best laptops for school work in 2023

Without question one of the best laptops for school work of the year, let alone a favourite of ours, the ASUS laptop Vivobook 15 is an incredibly solid laptop choice for conquering the school year.

Designed and manufactured to last thanks to its military-grade durability, advanced 12th-generation Intel CPU and 512GB of SSD storage, the ASUS Vivobook 15 X1504ZA is bound to last the test of time, without slowing down any time soon.

A true bargain for a budget laptop under £600, the ASUS Vivobook 15's hardware is undoubtedly impressive for its price, at the minor cost of some slightly bland aesthetics - the Vivobook 15 doesn't disappoint.

A cheap, reliable laptop that's perfect for school work, that isn't going to cost you a fortune - HP's 15s-fq2003sa doesn't massively exceed expectations in terms of performance, but nonetheless it's a reliable laptop at its price.

An ultra-affordable 15.6-inch laptop made with a surprising level of quality, the overall look and feel of HP's 15s-fq2003sa is excellent - with a tactile, satisfying keyboard feel rivalling even some particularly expensive laptops.

And then there's the added benefits of the HP 15s-fq2003sa's free access to Microsoft Office for a year, saving you roughly £60. Word, Excel and PowerPoint are a must for school, so this little extra to sweeten the deal is an undeniable bargain.

As for the actual hardware of the HP 15s-fq2003sa, there's certainly room for improvement. An Intel Pentium Gold 7505 CPU and 4GB of RAM sit at the heart of the 15s-fq2003sa, which offers little in ways of strong performance and multitasking capabilities. For the sake of note-taking and essay writing, however, it's solid - and its 128GB of SSD storage is plenty for school work.

As a laptop under £300, HP's 15s-fq2003sa is a solid choice for school work, with some rough edges that are easily ignored in lieu of a bargain.

Yet another reliable laptop with a budget price, the ASUS Vivobook 15 X1500EA is a popular laptop for students, offering great storage and reliable performance at a reasonable price.

The ASUS Vivobook 15 X1500EA has pretty much everything you'll need for a productive study session thanks to its hardware; an impressive Intel i5 11th-generation CPU, 512GB of SSD storage and a less remarkable 8GB of RAM.

With less RAM than its more expensive counterpart, the Vivobook 15 X1504ZA, performance can hit some walls, especially if you've got countless tabs and demanding programs open at once, but if used properly, you're bound to get some solid note-taking done at school.

Just make sure you're situated close to a plug, the Vivobook 15 X1500EA only has six hours of battery life, so keep it charged.

If you're in need of a laptop that'll handle your heavy video editing demands, your graphic design software and maybe some gaming on the side, the Acer Swift 3 might just be the perfect laptop for you.

The Acer Swift 3, despite being one of our pricier picks, is without question one of the best laptop deals we've come across this year. Beautifully designed and manufactured with a gorgeous ultra-thin metal aesthetic, backlit keys with a punchy, durable feel - using the Acer Swift 3 throughout your day-to-day feels phenomenal.

Performance-wise, the Acer Swift 3 is a sensational laptop for school work; its AMD Ryzen 7 CPU is a cut above most budget laptops at its price, delivering mighty multitasking and instant boot times, and when paired with 16GB of RAM - there's nothing quite like it.

If we were to nitpick, a little more storage would take the Acer Swift 3 to the next level, but at its price, you're still getting an undeniably good deal.

For comfort, versatility and touchscreen for great graphic design potential, the HP Envy x360 is an excellent 2-in-1 laptop for school work.

Certainly not disappointing in either aesthetic or hardware, the HP Envy x360 2-in-1 laptop has a stunning full-HD touchscreen that feels responsive and crisp, making it perfect for students interested in digital design.

Performance-wise, the Envy x360's Intel i5-1230U is phenomenal, delivering excellent boot times, as well as some truly wonderful multitasking potential. The performance power of the HP Envy x360 is only slightly brought down by its much less impressive 8GB of RAM, which is surprising considering its cost.

That being said, the HP Envy x360 still performs considerably well, and as a laptop under £1,000 - you can't deny it's a bargain.

A reliable workhorse of a laptop, the Dell Inspiron 15 is a reliable option for those on a slightly tight budget, without any major sacrifices to performance.

Comfortable, solid and seamless to use, thanks to its 120Hz display (something we rarely see in laptops under £500), the Dell Inspiron 15 3520 laptop is silky smooth and ideal for quickly booting up and typing away in class.

With hardware that's plenty for note-taking on Microsoft Word, or using simple programs, without too much multitasking - the Dell Inspiron 15 isn't perfect, but offers plenty for its price.