Neptune Donates Laptops to London Schools

Neptune Energy has announced that it has donated 50 laptops to support online learning for pupils at two London schools.

The donations, which were said to have been made following reports of a major shortage of computer equipment for schoolchildren, came in addition to a Neptune staff supported fundraising effort, which raised more than $6,000 (GBP 4,400) for the Soho Parish and John Ruskin primary schools.

Neptune Energy said its commitment to supporting the local primary schools follows its pledge to support efforts to tackle mental health and youth unemployment issues across the UK and beyond, which it noted have intensified as a result of the pandemic.

“When we became aware of the shortage of laptops for schoolchildren, we wanted to play our part in supporting pupils to get online, not only to support their learning while they can’t attend classes but to allow them to maintain contact with friends,” Neptune Group HR Director Amanda Chilcott, who co-ordinated the campaign, said in a company statement.

“As a company we take pride in supporting the communities in which we work and we are delighted to be able to support the children at Soho Parish and John Ruskin primaries, both of which are close to our offices in London, during what has been a challenging time for them,” Chilcott added.

Clare Tayton, the head teacher at John Ruskin Primary, said, “due to the donations we have received we have been able to ensure that every family has access to a device for remote learning and many families no longer have to share devices”.

“We have already noticed a significant improvement in work being submitted and from our weekly calls know how much of a difference this has made to the children and their parents,” Tayton added.

Louise Ritchie, the head teacher at Soho Parish Primary, said, “thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Neptune Energy and its employees, we have been able to ensure our most vulnerable pupils have equal access to the curriculum”.

“All our pupils can now attend online lessons, groups and 1-1 sessions with their teachers, keeping us together even when physically separated. The growing gap between vulnerable pupils and their peers was concerning nationally and to us as a school, so we are hugely grateful for this resource, which we can already see making a difference,” Ritchie added.

Neptune Energy is an international independent exploration and production company with a regional focus on the North Sea, North Africa and Asia Pacific.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com