Donations mean 13 vulnerable children will get laptops at home

Staff at a Norfolk Primary School were "almost reduced to tears" after donations from the public helped them to provide internet access to more than a dozen vulnerable children studying at home.

Robert Kett Primary School in Wymondham initially launched a crowdfunder campaign in the hope of raising enough money to provide two children from low-income families with a laptop and internet dongle while they have to study from home.

Robert Kett Primary School in Wymondham. (Image: Archant)

But after a spate of donations and support from local groups like the Wymondham Lions, they are now able to help 13 children.

Karen Hurst, the school's business manager, said staff had identified 28 children in total who "don't have any access to a device".

Old laptops donated to Robert Kett Primary School to help vulnerable pupils from low-income families to study at home. (Image: Karen Hurst)

She said: "We thought £450 would cover a Chromebook and a dongle for one child. We're now up to £1,700 in our online campaign, but we've also had some donations from people outside of that too, so we have now been able to support eight children just from this. We've had on top of that five devices donated to the school.

"We've managed to help 13 of them so far, and we want to be able to sort the other 15 out too. We've almost been reduced to tears here, and humbled by people's generosity."

Karen Hurst, business manager at Robert Kett Primary School in Wymondham. (Image: Karen Hurst)

Schools across England are currently closed to most children while the country is in full lockdown, but concerns have been raised about some individuals' home conditions being unsuitable for learning.

Mrs Hurst added that some children aren't just missing hardware like laptops, but don't have any access to the internet at all.

"We can put a brand new laptop in their home, but if they don't have Wi-Fi it's useless. A lot of people just have a phone with 1GB of data, but then we're asking them to study online or through Google Meet so their data just disappears.

Old laptops donated to Robert Kett Primary School to help vulnerable pupils from low-income families to study at home. (Image: Karen Hurst)

"Once they've got the device, they need a suitable dongle too."

Robert Kett school has also been acting as a donation hub for food and toiletries, distributing items brought by the local Morrisons and Waitrose stores to vulnerable families.

To find out more or to donate, visit the school's JustGiving page.