My A4 kneeboard cost £1.29 in Staples. It was a hardboard clipboard, I drilled a hole (reinforced with insulating tape not to get frayed) for my stopwatch clip. I could then tape photocopies/printouts of any information I chose onto it, and a clear plastic pocket on the back for changeable information and to hold my plates for my IR. Very handy it was.
Tips for the course :
Learn some good ded reckonning techniques. The test is not really much more than the PPL skills test, but you must fly more precisely so the quicker your DR is out of the way the better!
Expect the unexpected - I had a gear lock failure on the test - no greens
And it wasn't examiner induced, to my astonishment.
Enjoy the flying and relax - you will fly like a professional pilot. Hard on the test I know, but believe that the examiner is trying to pass you!
Make a good decision whether or not to fly, even if you are at the holding point! That's what got me a partial, carrying on when the reports started looking difficult (though in limits) as I taxied - the old military habit "if it's in limits for the test, you fly!" (or in my case once for a test - "good decision not to fly today, but I think we can find a gap"!).