£10m Mail Force for good: Readers and donors send Computers for Kids drive to soaring heights 

Mail Force has shattered the £10million barrier with a stunning pledge of 6,500 laptops.

The mammoth total has been reached only 16 days after the launch of the Computers for Kids crusade to help locked-down pupils study from home.

The huge haul of laptops comes from the Crown Prosecution Service. Previously used in court by prosecutors, they are now being wiped clean before being repurposed for the classroom.

It means some will have been used for high-profile trials of terrorists, killers and robbers. Now, in their second lives, the computers will be helping pupils follow online lessons.

The donation came about after an IT worker at the CPS saw the Mail’s campaign. We are accepting used laptops and – for around £15 – having them professionally refurbished for young learners.

All the latest 6,500 devices are lightweight and powerful ThinkPads made by Lenovo.

The CPS said it would delete all the data on them, including sensitive notes kept by prosecutors of criminal records and case evidence used in trials and plea hearings.

Their value is estimated to be at least £3million, although they will have to go through a formal evaluation before being accepted for schools. Rebecca Lawrence, chief executive of the CPS, said: ‘We need to adapt to the changing demands of our job, such as handling increasingly large data files like CCTV and police body-worn footage. To keep pace, we need to upgrade our equipment.

‘We’re using this opportunity to support home-schooling in these uncertain times by donating up to 6,500 older laptops to Mail Force’s excellent laptops for children campaign.

‘We hope these decommissioned laptops will make a real difference to the children and young people who receive them. The CPS’s investment in our digital capability means we’ve been able to continue to deliver justice during the pandemic.’

The CPS is giving the devices in batches, starting with 500. Since the campaign’s launch on January 23, Mail Force has seen an extraordinary number of donations. More than 24,000 readers have sent money, and philanthropists including Sir Tom Hunter have given up to £500,000.

The charity has been boosted by donations of laptops from Lloyds, Sainsbury’s, Santander and Dixons Carphone, with a combined estimated value of £1.4million. 

Together with an amazing £1.5million from readers and cash donations of £3.1million from big companies including Camelot, Boohoo and The Hut Group, the overall value of pledges has shot past £10.1million. It is one of the most successful newspaper campaigns in history, reaching the eight-figure milestone in just 16 days.

The campaign is in conjuction with the Department for Education, which is on a drive to supply 1.3million devices. As well as refurbished laptops, Mail Force will supply new computers and is looking at other ways of helping pupils with online access.

The project has been hailed by teachers, parents, unions, large companies and all six living prime ministers.

Readers have sent poignant messages with their cheques or online donations. Hilary Evans, of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, wrote: ‘As a grandmother of five (four at school and one at university) and as a retired teacher, I am only too aware of the needs of many of our boys and girls.’

Trevor Collins, treasurer of the Rye and Winchelsea Rotary Club in East Sussex, sent £500 following a whip-round of members. 

On our Virgin Money Giving page, donor Jacqui wrote: ‘Thank you Daily Mail for bringing this important issue to our attention – kids need computers! Simple as that.

‘Having worked in education and with a passion for technology, especially during this pandemic, this was a no-brainer for me.’

Nora Allan gave enough for two children to get laptops, and said: ‘To give children a good chance with their education which is so valuable for them and their future.’

Mary Manning wrote: ‘I don’t have any interest in owning a laptop. I’m one of that generation who prefers to do things the old way. However, I do realise the world would be unable to perform without all the up-to-date computers.’

In another boost for families, telecoms firms have agreed to grant free mobile access to a major online learning site.

Lessons available on the Oak National Academy website will no longer count toward phone data usage. The news came as the government-backed learning hub said it had provided 100million lessons in the pandemic. Now that the website has been ‘zero-rated’ by the firms, families reliant on internet connections from their mobile phones will no longer need to worry about paying out for extra data.

The 11 firms that have agreed to ‘zero-rate’ Oak National Academy’s content are Vodafone, BT, O2, Three, PlusNet, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky, Smarty, EE and Virgin Media.

Matt Hood, principal of the academy, said: ‘We can now make sure that data costs are not locking our poorest families out of online learning. This will make a huge difference.’

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said it was ‘another huge step in making sure young people can continue to have the best possible education while we all stay at home to save lives’. He added: ‘100million lessons is a tremendous achievement and illustrates the vital impact Oak is having.’