On 1 December 2021, we facilitated a donation of high-quality tech devices to City of London Academy, Highgate Hill.
This is the third school that we have supported through our partnership with Monzo, which launched six months ago. Monzo, a leading UK online bank on a mission to make money work for everyone, has donated a surplus of their devices to support the local community. Since June, we have made sure that these donations are shared with schools that have trouble accessing the right funding or the right technology. Supporting under-funded schools is a key part of our work, through our Project Spark initiative.
Islington is a local area to Monzo and ourselves and has one of the highest rates of student free school meal eligibility of any London borough. Many schools here need tech devices to improve their students' access to lessons, support homework needs and provide students with key digital skills for the future.
Making a difference
We were able to facilitate a donation of MacBooks and screen displays to City of London Academy, Highgate Hill. These devices can be used for various subjects including Music, GCSE Media Studies and Art, supporting the creativity of multiple year groups. The atmosphere at the school was electric as the devices arrived! Students and teachers were so excited to receive the devices, which they described as an early Christmas present.
The donation helps to reduce the number of students sharing a device during lessons. Students who do not have access to laptops at home can also utilise these devices for their homework needs. This improves student engagement and attainment, also enabling students to develop digital skills needed for the future.
Mr. Smith, Head of Music at the school said:
"The donation will make such a difference in how we are able to teach practical subjects. The MacBooks will allow each student to work independently rather than having to share devices which means they are able to develop their skills and push themselves further than they ever would have been able to previously. The impact this will have on our students and their learning is huge and we couldn't be more grateful to Open Palm and Monzo for this donation."
Donations such as these improve lives, enabling students to thrive.
"A little kindness in the form of a reconditioned device donated by Monzo with the help of Open Palm certainly goes a long way to helping students and teachers accomplish so much more!"
- Lynette, Trustee of Open Palm
We are delighted that we have been able to support three schools to date through this partnership with Monzo and we look forward to supporting more students in future. A huge thanks to Monzo for the generous donation.
We are committed to creating an equal start line so that no one is left behind. For more information about the tech donation programme or how to get involved, please email us at info@openpalm.org.uk