AN appeal in the Journal from a school for laptops to help pupils learn at home led to a delivery by Wiltshire’s High Sheriff.

Jonathan Curtis, the headteacher of Trafalgar School in Downton, told the paper that despite issuing 100 laptops to pupils there was still a need for more so children in low income families could access live lessons.

High Sheriff Ashley Truluck saw the article and contacted Wiltshire Digital Drive, a Community Interest Company formed last year to collect unwanted equipment and refurbish it before distributing it to families and groups in need. Mr Truluck is also chairman of trustees at Wiltshire Community Foundation, which had funded the group with a £5,000 grant from its Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund. Wiltshire Digital Drive donated five laptops to Trafalgar School, which were delivered by Mr Truluck.

Gilly Jackson, the school’s assistant headteacher, said they would be put to good use. “We are so grateful to Wiltshire Digital Drive and to Mr Truluck,” she said. “We have got a lot of students who are struggling to access remote learning because of not having a laptop or not having one each. We have been very lucky because we have had lots of donations of laptops or money, but we still didn’t have enough. “We have a mix of live and recorded lessons and these laptops will help the students access live lessons, which is so important.

“Often a family can work around recorded video lessons if their children share but they can’t for live lessons if there are two at the same time. It’s important for the students to have that connection with their classmates and their teacher.”

Mr Truluck said: “Providing schoolchildren with laptops to connect them with their teachers fulfils both an educational and a social need – both equally vital at this time. Trafalgar School is an excellent community-minded school which serves a large catchment area. “It teaches 70 children of key workers, including many NHS staff at Salisbury Hospital, but the majority of pupils are working from home.

“I am delighted that Wiltshire Digital Drive has been able to join many other members of the community in providing laptops – and proud that Wiltshire Community Foundation were instrumental in providing source funding to enable them to do so.”

Wiltshire Digital Drive director Kieran Thomas said the group, which has delivered more than 500 laptops to date, still needs donations of unwanted equipment.

“To keep the project going, we need more laptops from both individuals and businesses,” he said.

“Individuals can donate by using one of our donation points which are now all over Wiltshire.

“The details are on our website wiltshiredigitaldrive.org.

“We would really love to hear from more businesses to pledge their kit when they replace any. Businesses can email us on info@wiltshiredigitaldrive.org.”

Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund has raised £1.2 million and has supported more than 200 groups. To donate go to wiltshirecf.org.uk.