Normally I would search up and give you info about the best components in best price category for a new PC beacuse I am a hardware PC addict, but in this case the (most forbidden and deneiled) thought that came to my mind is: why not get a Ipad?
Nowdays those machines are becoming more and more equal with a simple laptop and even outperform them in some cases. OK - you will become very locked and limited and cannot use it like a PC, and the touchscreen keyboard maybe is more difficult to learn than a regular laptops keyboard. But in the other hand a Ipad IS made for just 3 things: surfing, communication and writing. It really have become a small computer and is very fast and dont freeze or hangs up like a PC always does!
The communications devices is way beyond the PC market and you will have both a mobile telephone, a computer, and a mobile broadband all-in-one machine with way better battery life than any PC laptop! Just perfect for school work with bluetooth interface. If I in the future is planning to buy a mobile computer as an complementary to my PC desktop I would choose an Ipad and not a laptop because I think you will get more out of one of those for the money. But thats just me becoming older and more greyish through the years...