BY BETH GREGORY

NEW Research from Policy Expert has released shocking figures that children are carrying £1.8 billion worth of valuables to school each day.

With technology vastly advancing, new products are being created, causing tech to be vital in everyday life.

Shockingly, the value of an average school bag has risen by 16 per cent, and now stands at £234 a day.

Almost half , 47 per cent of parents allow their child to take valuable items such as mobile phones, iPads and computer consoles to school with them.

There are approximately 7.9 million children aged between six and sixteen in the UK, which means there could be a total of £1.8 billion worth of valuables being carried around in children’s bags every day.

Nowadays, children are asking for devices such as mobile phones and gaming consoles from the age of six.

This is influenced by the more common use of technology within schools, and children are now growing up watching their family members use phones and computers daily.

Despite the willingness from parents to let children take the responsibility for valuables, almost a third of adults surveyed don’t have away from home cover as part of their home insurance, and 19 per cent were unaware of the coverage.

Adam Powell, head of operations at Policy Expert, said: "With the UK averaging 600,000 pickpocket incidents each year, and the high propensity for valuables to be loss of broken outside of the home in the care of children, its best to make sure you’re covered to avoid tears as well as financial loss."

As an A-level student I use technology daily to complete my work - to write essays, use email, and to collect research and images for projects.

It is common to see people bring in technology from home, and it is unusual to find somebody that doesn’t have a mobile phone on them within school. I think the cost of your bag isn’t something a child would consider.