Yes, August is in its grim twilight days, and this week sees hundreds of thousands of primary and secondary pupils reluctantly returning to school (those pesky college kids probably have another few weeks to go). These days, schoolkids increasingly have easy access to tablets and smartphones: tools that can either prove the ultimate procrastination tool or a surprisingly robust supplement to the rest of their educational resources.

Here’s some recommended applications to prepare for another year of schooling:

Google Drive: Available on iOS and Android, Google’s cloud-based software is a lifesaver, allowing users to edit, share and save documents across all their devices (within reason, Nokia 3310 loyalists). Different formats offer a variety of office applications, but Google Drive is the handiest and most reliable of the lot. Shame typing on a touchscreen is still a nightmare…

(Dropbox is also handy for sharing and accessing any other files you might need to use across various devices and formats)

Evernote: There’s no shortage of note-taking applications out there, but Evernote remains the boss of them all. Free to download, it’s again available on iOS and Android, and is the best way to keep all those furiously scribbled notes organised. Unfortunately, the app cannot guarantee you’ll be able to understand what exactly you meant in that particularly rambling note composed during Irish class.

iTunes U: For iOS devices only, this is a vital app for anyone who has access to it. Providing thousands of books and courses from top education institutes, it’s an excellent resource for second and third level students looking to research beyond the remit of the standard textbook. Also: it's free.

iHomework: Those homework journals falling apart and getting you down? iHomework allows you to easily manage your workload and assignments without the need to fumble around with pencils, erasers and all that other nonsense. Whether organising your own deadlines or sending your ‘sick’ friend their homework (they’ll love you for that), it’s a handy app for managing all things homework. As the name suggests, this is iOS only.

Rise Alarm Clock: Another for Apple devices, this slick application is a neat alternative to the default alarm app. With its elegant swipe-based UI, Rise makes waking up that little bit easier. However, given many parents around the country are about to encounter sleepy teenagers who won’t get up no matter what, we might recommend setting the tone to the loudest heavy metal song you can find. That’ll teach ‘em.