Christmas comes early! 1,200 pupils given free iPad 2s as their secondary spends £500,000
By Emily Allen
Last updated at 11:21 AM on 6th October 2011
A secondary school is facing questions after it handed out iPad 2s to each of its 1,200 students at a cost of almost £500,000.
Honywood Community Science School in Coggeshall, Colchester in Essex is believed to be the first school to make such a significant investment in the technology – at a cost of about £400 per iPad.
However, campaigners from the TaxPayers’ Alliance want to know how the school, which was granted academy status in May, funded the move.
Investment: Honywood Community Science School in Colchester is believed to be the first school to make such a significant investment in the technology
A former headteacher of the school said the investment sends the wrong message to students.
Meanwhile, the school is refusing to answer questions on how the technology will benefit students, saying it wants to protect pupils’ safety.
Headteacher Simon Mason has posted iPad tutorials on website YouTube to teach students how to set up Apple accounts and download applications.
He has asked parents to donate £50 towards insuring the iPads.
Emma Boon, Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign director, said: ‘iPads are a premium product at a premium price, there will be a huge cost of buying, repairing and replacing the devices that will inevitably be damaged or go astray.
‘Buying new technology for schools has to be about educational results, not gimmicks.
The school’s former headteacher Peter Inson said ‘giveaways’ send the wrong message to pupils
‘New technology could be introduced at a much smaller cost without giving every pupil their own personal device, many taxpayers will suspect money intended for pupils’ education is instead being spent on devices to play games on.’
The school’s former headteacher Peter Inson said the move sent the wrong message to pupils.
He said: ‘It’s the thin end of a wedge. It is the wrong sort of motivation.
‘Students should want education for their own sake not because of material giveaways.
‘What message does this send? To go to the school with the best technology?
‘Once one school sets a precedent the others are sure to follow suit.’
Honywood recently gained academy status, which gives the school more control over its budget.
Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham, backed the school’s investment, saying schools in other countries are already using similar gadgets in lessons.
She said: ‘Our international competitors across the world are embracing the latest technologies in schools, other public services including hospitals and in the private sector.
‘New and modern technologies can provide a valuable asset to help children learn and pupils in Britain and in Essex should not be left behind.
‘Head teachers and governing bodies should be able to invest in IT for pupils to use where it brings clear benefits to their education and value for money.
Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham, backed the school’s investment
‘All schools, whether they are academies or not, are able to make these investments and will do so in discussion with parents.
‘While it may be tempting to criticise schools for choosing to spend money in this way to grab a headline, the evidence I have seen shows that schools using these technologies have fully weighed up the costs and have decided to make these investments to benefit the education of local pupils.’
Mrs Patel has also expressed concern over media coverage of such schemes.
She said: ‘I also believe newspapers need to act responsibly when reporting these cases so the safety of local pupils is not put at risk.’
The school itself says on its website: ‘We are a high-achieving, oversubscribed, comprehensive school serving the village of Coggeshall and nearby communities in North Essex; on May 1st 2011 our school became an Academy.
‘Young people at our school can expect the most challenging learning experiences.
‘We expect our learners to become independent, mature and empowered, able to make excellent decisions about the lives they lead whilst at our school, as well as learning how to be happy and successful in the lives they will lead on leaving us.
‘These expectations, when added to the strong partnership into which we enter with Honywood families, ensure our young people consistently out perform their peers, making us one of the most effective schools in the country.’
Categories: News Tags: 1200, 500000, Christmas, comes, Early, Free, given, iPad, pupils, secondary, spends, their
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