Drax Group that own the Galloway Hydro Scheme in South west Scotland is delivering hundreds of laptops with internet access to schools and colleges local to its operations across Britain, to ensure students can continue with their studies during the Covid-19 crisis.
As the pandemic continues to have a major impact on families and communities across the UK, the energy company which owns the UK’s largest power station, is rolling out a package of measures to support people in its communities.
It has been working with headteachers at its partner schools to source and provide families with laptops and prepaid internet access so children without a computer at home can connect and continue with their studies during the lockdown.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:
“At Drax we’ve been working with headteachers during the Easter break to make sure that students have access to laptops as they start the summer term. This is crucial, as highlighted by the Government this weekend.
“We’re delivering nearly 700 laptops with internet access to the students who need them most. The pandemic continues to have a major impact on families, businesses and communities across the UK – our support for students means we’re helping to get them connected so they can keep learning during the lockdown.”
As part of its initiative to inspire more children to study STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) subjects, Drax has been working with partner schools local to its operations for some time, delivering a range of projects and careers events.
This latest project has seen the energy company invest £200,000 in the laptops with prepaid internet access, delivered for the summer term to partner schools in its local communities across England and Scotland.
A Spokesperson for the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership said ” We’re delighted to be assisting with the distribution of the Galloway portion of this national donation by Drax of 700 laptops to assist children facing a period of home-schooling due to #Covid19. Drax is the owner of the Galloway Hydro Scheme and is on our Partnership Board as our key business partner.
We’ll be taking delivery of the Galloway portion, 42 laptops (with unlimited data dongles), in the coming days and distributing them to schools up and down the valley. The schools are going to make sure they go to the children who will benefit the most.
Follow our social media feed as we take delivery and distribute around the area in coming days!”
#laptopsforlearners #homeschooling #Covidresponse #Partnership #GallowayHydroScheme
Russell Hobby, CEO of Teach First, a leading charity which aims to address disadvantages in education, added:
“Home schooling is difficult for any family, but for children with limited access to a laptop or the internet – the barriers to studying are even greater. This generous donation by Drax will help hundreds of children to continue to learn during the crisis and have a positive impact on their life chances, as well as the communities in which they live.”
As part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, Drax has taken unprecedented measures to protect its staff during the Covid-19 crisis and maintain a reliable and stable supply of electricity to millions of homes and businesses across the UK.
Just last week, engineers at Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire – the UK’s largest power station – installed blue lighting on one of the 114m tall cooling towers in appreciation of the NHS as part of the ‘Clap for Carers’ initiative
