Five schools across Greater Manchester are being given more than £60,000 worth of computer equipment by Huawei so pupils can join online classes from home.
The donation of 250 pupil packs comes after the company backed the Manchester Evening News' Digital Donation Day hosted last month.
It brings the total raised in financial donations and new and used tech data package donations to a staggering £260k, just £40k short of the Greater Manchester Technology Fund's £300k phase two target.
The fund - launched by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to get equipment and internet connections to those who need it most - identified five schools in need of the pupil packs, which contain a Huawei MatePad T3 10 tablet, a Huawei 4G modem and a SIM card pre-loaded with data, courtesy of Huawei’s partners at Three UK.
These packs will ensure pupils have both the hardware and connectivity required for remote learning, something thousands of children across the region are still struggling to learn without.
The five schools receiving the 50 Huawei pupil packs are:
- Longdendale High School in Hyde
- Sharples School in Bolton
- The Derby High School in Bury
- Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester
- Byrchall High School in Wigan
Karl Harrison, headteacher at Burnage Academy for Boys, said: “We serve communities in the most deprived areas of the inner city and some of our parents do not have the means to be able to provide the devices needed at present for their children.
"The fantastic generosity of Huawei will make an enormous difference to so many of our families and give our boys the opportunity to access remote learning in the pandemic.
"This is truly humbling in the most challenging of times and we offer our most sincere and heartfelt thanks.”
Victor Zhang, vice president of Huawei says that lockdowns have been tough on everyone, but particularly difficult for kids and 'the harsh truth is that some are at serious risk of being left behind'.
He said: “The shift to remote education has been challenging for all families, but it has been especially difficult for those pupils who don’t have the means to participate in video lessons or interact with other children.
"No pupils should be left behind, but we all know of schoolchildren who, through no fault of their own, are facing barriers to the education they should be receiving."
He added: "Huawei remains committed to improving connectivity across the UK, as we have been for the last 20 years. We are eager to help during the pandemic and so we are really pleased to be donating 250 pupil packs to schools in Greater Manchester, with the support of our partners at Three UK.
"We hope this donation goes some way to breaking down those barriers and helping schoolchildren continue their education at this uniquely challenging time.”
Diane Modahl is chair of Greater Manchester’s Youth Task Force and leads the Greater Manchester Tech Fund.
As part of our campaign day, Diane appeared in a Facebook live on the Manchester Evening News' Facebook pages, speaking to Glyn Potts, head of Blessed John Henry Newman RC College in Oldham, about how important it is for pupils to have the right kit for remote learning. You can watch the full Facebook video here.
Responding to Huawei's donation, she said: "In Greater Manchester, we believe that our young people deserve every chance to fulfil their potential. We set up the Greater Manchester Tech Fund to support our most vulnerable young people to prevent them being marginalised and at a disadvantage from their peers.
"I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Huawei for their generous donation to the GM Tech Fund. Huawei’s donation will help digitally-excluded young people with the technology and connectivity needed to continue their learning at home while schools and colleges remain closed. ”
Phase two of the GM Tech Fund has seen 638 digital kit bundles distributed to young learners in need across Greater Manchester, on top of the 567 that were sent out under the first phase.
Last month's campaign day was kick-started with a mammoth donation from fashion retailer Boohoo, which donated 250 new laptops and 40 used iMacs for refurbishment.
We listed all the businesses who offered support here and, as well as Huawei's donation, others have since been made by One Manchester and One Consulting.
The fund is still accepting donations of cash and new and used tech.
To find out more about how to donate to the GM Tech Fund, visit the website here.
.jpg?w=600)
