STUDENTS at The Skipton Academy are using the latest technology in the classroom thanks to a grant from the town’s Mechanics Institute.

Its £4,125 donation has allowed the school to buy 20 iPads and cases, along with secure storage cabinets.

Principal, Wendy Hamilton, said: “These iPads will provide a mobile teaching and learning tool that can be used by different subjects to enhance and give greater variety to teaching techniques.

"They will enable teachers to be flexible in the classroom with students able to undertake a variety of activities within the same environment.

“We are very grateful to the Skipton Mechanics Institute for their generosity and investment in the future of the town’s young people.”

English is one subject where the iPads are already proving invaluable. Pupils studying First World War poetry are using the devices to immediately investigate this in more depth and contextualise what they are reading with historical background.

And it is not just students who will benefit from the use of the iPads. Parents, too, may find them a useful resource.

Wendy added: “We can use the devices to gather parent questionnaire feedback at events, and they may also be used to support the adult learning and skills work we are currently undertaking with Craven District Council, which aims to upskill parents to better enable them to support their children with their learning.”