London, 8th August 2012 – Acer, a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement is providing the PC hardware infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic Games. As part of its commitment to the legacy following the Games, Acer has worked with leading education charity the e-Learning Foundation to find a home for over 500 laptops as a result of the legacy programme of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Selected primary schools in the host boroughs including Barking & Dagenham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Waltham Forest have ordered the laptops, branded with a special London 2012 Olympic Games Badge, for every child in a selected year group. A small number will also go to the Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The laptops will have been used by the workforce running the 2012 Games to support various operations such as games management, competition scores, reception, information queries, broadcaster support, media centres and the itinerary for each athlete. The laptops will then be cleaned and refurbished so they are ready for children to use and are anticipated to be delivered to the schools in late autumn. They will come with a one year warranty and will cost a fraction of their original price.
The schools are:
· Trinity and Southwood Primary Schools in Dagenham Essex
· Cherry Orchard School in Charlton
· Whitehall Primary School in London, E4
· Northwold Primary School, London E5
· Ainslee Wood Primary School in Chingford
· Bigland Green Primary School in E1
· Brook Community Primary School in E18
· The Children’s Hospital School, Great Ormond Street Hospital
The laptops have all been supplied by Acer, one of the worldwide sponsors of the London 2012 Games. The main condition for schools acquiring the laptops was that they must be prepared to work with the e-Learning Foundation to establish a sustainable programme for 1:1 provision, involving parents as well as school funds, so that future generations of pupils can also benefit from having their own computer for their schoolwork, homework, coursework and revision – extending the legacy of London 2012 into the future.
Laptops for Schools has been granted the Inspire mark by the London 2012 Inspire programme. The London 2012 Inspire programme recognises innovative and exceptional projects that are directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Valerie Thompson, Chief Executive of the e-Learning Foundation says: “This is a really exciting opportunity for these schools to be part of the London 2012 legacy. It would have been easy just to give these away, but by requiring that the school makes a commitment to continuing an e-learning programme, we are building the foundations of a sustainable programme rather than a one-off hand-out. Schools with relatively high free school meals figures will be able to deploy some of their Pupil Premium funds to ensure that every child in the selected year has the same opportunity to have an “Olympic Games laptop” while inviting all the parents to make a modest contribution towards the cost of the programme.
All sorts of new and exciting learning opportunities become possible once every child has home and school access to technology. Teachers will be able to do things they were previously prevented from doing because of the digital divide and patchy home access. We are proud to have been selected to participate in this important legacy programme and look forward to working with the participating schools.”
Colin MacFarlane, Acer’s UK Education Development Manager adds: “Acer is a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement. It is also committed through its education division to providing the best computing solutions for schools. Acer is committed to supporting the legacy of the Games and is delighted to be working in partnership with the e-learning Foundation to support local schools and students in the London 2012 host boroughs.”
Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “Laptops for Schools is a great programme. I am thrilled that Acer is offering this opportunity to children in the Host Boroughs and helping us leave a lasting legacy.”
Acer is the Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement. To support the London 2012 Olympic Games, Acer has mobilised 350 staff members. The equipment provided comprises 13,500 desktops; 2,900 notebooks; 950 servers and storage systems and a number of tablet PCs. These resources will run the entire information system for the event.
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