If you are anywhere near a John Lewis I'd take a trip there. Plenty of lap tops to choose from in your budget any many of them come with 3 years warranty - for free.

In terms of recommendations - I would say any of the brands out there are pretty decent - HP, Dell, Acer and Lenovo.

I happen to have a couple of newish laptops going spare (both only just 1 year old - HP - good spec) that I would be willing to pass on for £150 if you're interested. I'm based in Bristol and travel regularly to Swindon and London.

Let me know if you are interested and I can provide the full spec and get one of the mods to pass you my details.

Thanks for that response and offer, unfortunately I'm in N E Scotland so not very practical to get one of yours!. There is a John Lewis in Aberdeen (about 30 miles south of where I am) so if I get a chance I will have a look. But I was actually thinking about specific model recommendations, which I could then source on the Internet (which is much more convenient for me). But thanks again.

I have found when buying computers your budget is always just below what is needed! £300 really is bottom of the scale, go to £400 and you will get much more in choice. Have a look at cclonline.com. They have a huge selection with a good filtering system. I paid £379 for a new Lenovo earlier this year and for what I need it for it has been excellent. I have however noticed the exchnage rate changes have pushed prices up and this machine is now over £400. Also if he is at school ask if they have access to any special purchase schemes.

Thanks for that dave, i will have a look at that website. also for that tip about asking at the school, it would never have crossed my mind!.