David Beckham backs campaign to help children get laptops during lockdown

David Beckham and host of other A-list celebrities have backed a campaign to get laptops into the hands of disadvantaged children who remain stuck at home during lockdown.

School leaders, teaching unions and MPs have expressed concern about pupils from low-income families falling behind because they lack the equipment to keep up with remote learning while schools remain closed.

One-third of disadvantaged pupils did not have access to a device needed for online work during school closures in 2020, according to a study released earlier this week.

England’s former football captain, Sir Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson are among the famous names supporting a push by the Daily Mail to get even more laptops out to pupils struggling for computer access.

The Mail Force charity – originally set up to get more PPE to NHS staff – is raising money and working with leading businesses to address the digital divide through its Computers for Kids drive.

Launched at the end of January, the charity set up by has raised more than £10.6m in cash and computer donations. As well as buying new devices, second-hand laptops donated in bulk by major companies are being repurposed by IT experts for educational use.

The Manchester United and England legend features in a new campaign video, alongside Stephen Fry, David Walliams and dozens of others, calling for more support.

“Right now millions of Britain’s children need us to take action,” said Beckham. He added that laptops helped prevent pupils from becoming “isolated from their friends and their teachers”.

The Department for Education said almost 990,000 laptops have been sent out to schools sent since last year, with around 425,000 delivered since 4 January, when teaching moved online for all but vulnerable and key worker children for the second time during the pandemic.

Britain’s three biggest teaching unions have also backed the drive for greater computer access. “The pandemic has highlighted the harsh reality that there is a very severe digital divide between rich and poor,” said Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

To donate to the campaign, you can find out more here.

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One third of disadvantaged pupils ‘had no access to device needed for online work last year’