That said, it was only the grown-ups – not the kids – who noticed this.

Our only complaint was the screen display, which was dimmer than the other laptops we tested. Ours easily got through a couple of days’ use before the battery ran low, which is handy for kids who never remember to put devices on charge, or forget to take the power cable out with them. The laptop has plenty of ports including USB-C and microSD, and the biggest benefit we noticed was the extra-long battery life. It feels more delicate than some of the more robust, kid-friendly models we tested, so we’d recommend this for older children. Our tester liked the “grown up” laptop design, 14in screen and the fact it has a 180-degree hinge that allows it to lie totally flat on the table – good when you’re sharing the screen with siblings. Looks-wise it’s an attractively sleek, slim machine that looks a bit like a Macbook pro or air, albeit with a less premium feel and a slightly squarer edge when you’re up close. It’s the cheapest ARM-powered Windows 10 laptop available, and with a qualcomm snapdragon 7C processor and 4GB RAM it proved speedy enough for our tester’s everyday browsing and homework needs.

If you want Windows at a low price, the Samsung Galaxy book go is worth adding to your shortlist.

Processor: QualComm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2.

This is a brilliant little machine that our testers voted their overall favourite. Those two alone add at least a couple of hundred pounds onto the price, although it’s well worth the investment. Likewise, the surface pen (£99.99, ), which lets you draw, sketch and colour on the screen, is an add-on. On the subject of budget, it’s worth knowing that the type cover (£124.99, ) – which turns this from a tablet into a laptop with a keyboard and trackpad – isn’t included, so you’ll need to buy this separately. Fortunately there are lots of configuration options, so this is easily done if you’re willing to up your budget. The basic model comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, which is sufficient for everyday use but will need upgrading if your children are liable to install millions of apps or want to use this for gaming. This little bit of kit can run full Windows 10 at a push, so it’s an affordable option if your kids need to use relatively complex applications for school. But don’t be fooled by its diminutive stature and light weight.

Processor: Intel Pentium Gold and Core Mīilled as Microsoft’s smallest, lightest laptop, the surface go 2 is the teeniest model in our shortlist with a compact 10.5in touchscreen.

Best mac disk cleaner for 2019