“Our town has really put its children at its heart,” said Ian Bartle, headteacher of Sherborne Primary School after an ambitious crusade to gift a laptop to every child who needs one raised a staggering £42,881.

Up to a million children UK schoolchildren are struggling with lessons at home because they are unable to access the technology needed and children in North Dorset are not immune.

The Rotary Club of Sherborne Castles launched a gofundme campaign to gift a laptop to every child in the Sherborne area who needed one to learn at home during lockdown and beyond.

And in just four weeks, kind- hearted locals, Rotarians, families and friends raised the staggering sum, which has enabled 200 laptops to be purchased and presented to pupils at 13 schools in the Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust (SAST).

Ian Bartle, headteacher of Sherborne Primary School, one of the schools receiving new laptops, said: “I cannot begin to thank the Rotary Club and the immense generosity of our community for kindly providing our pupils with the essential tools required to access education and learning during this pandemic and partial school closure.”

“I wish I could share with you the joy and gratitude of our families, when they receive their donated device and the difference it will make to their child’s learning. From a school’s viewpoint, the large rise in active engagement with online learning has been great to see.”

As children are set to return to schools next week, many laptops will remain with the children to support them with their learning.
Devices in school will help with digital lessons, enabling students to master technology skills they will need in the future.

Dave Pearson, joint president of the Rotary branch, said: “We started the appeal in the hope that we could raise a small amount of money to purchase laptops for some of the many primary school children in the local area who were unable to access online learning. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of individuals as well as local trust funds who have donated to this cause and raised nearly £43,000.”

“Our club would like to thank everyone who has supported this appeal, which has enabled all the children in the 13 SAST primary schools to now engage with the schools’ provision for learning at home.”

Along with money raised through the campaign, the Rotary Club received donations of laptops, iPads and tablets for many secondary pupils.
And some of the funds have been directed to primary school pupils outside the Sherborne area.

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