Our readers have given a phenomenal £375,000 – in just three days – to help lockdown pupils.
And now insurance giant Direct Line has added £125,000 and technology firm Peak Scientific £250,000.
Further companies are rushing to offer second-hand laptops – a crucial element of the Mail Force crusade.
The Computers for Kids campaign was launched to help children who are unable to follow online lessons.
Insurance giant Direct Line has added £125,000 and technology firm Peak Scientific £250,000. Pictured: Chief executive of Direct Line, Penny James
With classrooms shut until possibly Easter, and a third of families saying they do not have enough devices, countless youngsters are falling behind with their studies. We are raising money for Mail Force, the charity set up last year to tackle PPE shortages in the NHS. Mail Force is committed to getting laptops to schoolchildren fast.
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St Lawrence in Horncastle s Sparrow class social distancing in lessons.
During the first lockdown in March 2020, children were having to be homeschooled by their parents as well as trying to learn via video chats with their teachers.
Then when schools reopened again just before the summer, whole year groups and class bubbles would have to be sent home due to positive tests among the pupils and staff.
The new year brought more upheaval when schools opened after Christmas on Monday January 4, then were closed to all but key worker children the following day and teachers were given just 24 hours to roll out an online learning programme once again.
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Ella is now working from home.
She joins many around the world, fellow Brits and her parents in succumbing to safety over normalcy. She is 12 years old, a high school student in south London.
“When I was in Year Seven and the first lockdown came, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so good! We don’t have to go to school! ” she said from her dining room, via Zoom. “And now I’m just like, ‘Oh please let me go back to school. ”
As in much of Europe, the British government has made face-to-face learning a priority in the pandemic. Apart from the first lockdown in spring 2020, it had managed to keep schools open through the autumn. That was done, despite, at times, shutting all non-essential retail and restaurants and telling people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
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