Nemo Personal Finance gets local school sorted with computers

Children at Grangetown Primary School, Cardiff, are set to benefit from computers donated by Nemo Personal Finance. The 10 computers donated will provide children with the opportunity to develop the IT skills needed for today's interactive society.

Nemo Personal Finance, a secured personal loans company, has contributed to closing the digital divide in the local community, giving young people better access to new technology. Not all children have access to a computer at home and so the IT lessons they have in school are the only opportunity they have to develop their computer skills.

There are 350 children at Grangetown Primary School, who all use computers every week. Even the youngest reception class pupils start learning IT literacy at the age of 4. Computer learning starts off with basic classroom IT skills in reception, while the juniors enjoy a one hour timetabled session in the IT suite every week, further enhancing their skills. When not booked out for lessons, the IT suite is available for any class to use in order to support their work in other curriculum areas. Examples of this include using the internet to research topics, or the use of graphic software to support data handling modules in maths. The equipment donated will greatly benefit the children's learning across all ages and in all areas of the curriculum, allowing them to gain the IT skills needed later on in life for the workplace.

Phil Jones, joint managing director of Nemo Personal Finance, said: "Each and every employee at Nemo uses a PC on a daily basis. We understand the importance of information technology learning and are keen to contribute to education and to shaping our local community."

Angharad Evans, ICT Coordinator at Grangetown Primary School, said: "We are very grateful for Nemo's donation. IT is a curriculum area that constantly needs new resources. In a school like ours, every penny counts and fundraising is not easy. The donation from Nemo means that we can use the money put aside for new computers to pay for internet access into the classrooms, this means that pupils will not need to rely on the IT suite being free to do their research work. We have also been able to update our software, so the children will have access to some of the best new programs to support their IT learning."