Swindon & Wiltshire News
IT firm donates refurbished laptops to school
IT and web design agency Black Nova has donated 20 refurbished laptops to a local school.
The Calne-based company started collecting and refurbishing laptops when lockdown left some children unable to access online learning resources.
Laptops were wiped, reset and installed with the latest Windows 10 software before being passed to children.
The laptops were donated to Earl Danby’s CE Primary School in Brinkworth.
And while homeschooling is over for now, the firm says the digital divide is still a problem – and had pledged to keep collecting and refurbishing laptops.
Black Nova Designs director Danielle Holmes said: “Some of the laptops came with no software, others had broken screens and all of them needed hard drive upgrades.
“Some of those who donated asked Black Nova Designs to retrieve data and family photographs before they started work.
“The team worked hard to invest their time and expertise to ensure the laptops were in good working order.
“Many of us at Black Nova Designs are parents and so we experienced first-hand how challenging remote learning was for children and young people during lockdown.
“If kids don’t have access to technology and the internet, that gets even harder and risks them falling behind their peers.
“We wanted to use our expertise as an IT company to help local children access education and the response was amazing.”
Pictured: Black Nova Designs directors Danielle and Kyle Holmes
