A school has dismissed claims it is pressuring parents into ‘buying’ expensive iPads for their children.

Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Otley, is proposing a scheme that would see it purchasing iPads for all Year 7 to 9 students – based on their parents making a £360 contribution spread over three years. The school has held three consultation meetings.

One parent – who asked not to be identified – claimed the proposal has placed them in an “impossible” position. The parent said: “We feel we are being bullied and coerced into agreeing to this.

“We are being offered the choice of either going along with it or allowing our children to be ‘left out’. Prince Henry’s headteacher Janet Sheriff, said: “We believe the scheme will help give our students the advantage, in enhancing their learning as well as developing essential skills for when they leave.”