A COMMUNITY is rallying round to raise money for laptops to help Benton Park students access lessons during lockdown.

More than £2,200 has been raised after a facebook appeal to help students who don't have the equipment they need at home.

When the third lockdown was announced staff at the school immediately launched their programme of remote learning, with a full daily timetable of live lessons. But despite all the plans they had in place they knew that some students would struggle to access lessons because of a lack of IT devices at home.

Government issued laptops had been distributed to some students during the previous months but it was clear that the problem still existed for others.

Many students were still faced with trying to access lessons using just a mobile phone - putting them at a disadvantage to their peers and widening the learning divide.

More devices were received in January as part of the government IT roll out programme but again these were soon distributed leaving further need among students.

Hope for the school came in the form of an unexpected £500 donation from a local well-wisher to help plug the gap. The donation got staff thinking about how the community might come together to support all of their students and create a level playing field for them all to access their education during lockdown.

A Just Giving page was launched and staff were amazed when it reached £1,800 within 24 hours. This was further boosted by a donation of £1,900 from Otley Lions, £1,000 from the Frank Parkinson Trust and £500 from Friends of Benton Park.

A school spokesman said the response from the community was "amazing" and described the messages of support along with the donations as "heart-warming".

Headteacher Delia Martin said:“We are absolutely blown away by the fantastic support we have received from the community and local organisations. We have been able to order additional laptops and distribution of devices to those students in need is happening on a daily basis.

"Our staff are working incredibly hard on delivering quality remote learning and we find it unacceptable that some of our students aren’t able to access this. We want equality for all of our students and we feel privileged to work with such an amazing community who share our values and care about each and every one of our students in the same way we do.

"What we want more than anything is to see the students back in the classroom but until this is safe to do so, the next best alternative is supporting them to learn effectively at home.

"On behalf of the school, I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. Everyone is dealing with the Covid crisis and it is affecting each and every one of us differently, but campaigns such as this really do highlight all the positive aspects of our community and what can be achieved when we all come together."

The current donation total stands at £2215. Visit

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bentonpark-school?utm_term=A69bbq8aM to make a donation. Local businesses, or anyone with links to businesses that could help in any way are asked to contact the school on secretary@bentonpark.net.