Generous Sheffield tech firm donates 30 new laptops to schools to keep kids learning in lockdown

Tapton School headteacher Kat Rhodes, front, and deputy-headteacher Harkiran Grewal, right, with director Chris Booker, rear, and team at DeeperThanBlue, which has donated 15 laptops to the school.

DeeperThanBlue split the donation between Tapton and Wales high schools in Sheffield and Rotherham, which the bosses’ children attend.

They were inspired by publicity in The Star for the #LaptopsforKids campaign which has seen hundreds of unused machines refurbished and given to children without access to one, to help them keep up with lessons.

Co-founder Chris Booker, DeeperThanBlue sales and marketing director, said the firm didn’t have any old laptops to donate - so they bought new ones.

He added: “Hopefully this will help some families that don’t have access to tech, or there’s only one laptop in the home. It’s important they keep their learning going.”

Tapton headteacher Kat Rhodes and deputy-headteacher Harkiran Grewal picked up the donation in person from DeeperThanBlue’s office at Victoria Quays in the city centre.

Kat said they had 17 students on a waiting list after giving out every laptop and using all of their DfE allocation.

She added: “Children are enjoying lessons on Teams. This time we have got them trained up and teachers trained up but there are still a number of student that don’t have a laptop at home or are trying to access things on a smartphone. This donation means those youngsters are not disadvantaged in any way.”

Tapton School headteacher Kat Rhodes, left, and deputy-headteacher Harkiran Grewal, right, with Chris Booker and the team at Deeper Than Blue, which has donated 15 laptops to the school.

Laptops for Kids is a campaign by David Richards, chief executive of WANdisco, The Star and Learn Sheffield. It launched in Sheffield in September and recently received a £1.5 million boost from Sheffield Council.

For more information or to make a donation, visit: www.LTFK.co.uk