EVERY 11-year-old starting school at Winton this term has been given an Apple iPad Mini to enable them to “become independent and innovative thinkers”.

The academy has presented all new year seven pupils with iPad Minis as part of a new initiative to integrate 21st century technology into learning.

The school hope that the iPads, which will be used both in class and at home, will allow teachers to use new methods of teaching and provide all children with an equal footing in regards to computer access.

The move, which will cost around £6,000, will be absorbed by the school’s pre-existing ICT budget. Parents will cover the cost of insurance, with each of the 90 students involved in the project being asked to pay between £15 and £30 for their device depending on whether they are eligible for school meals.

David Morely-David, Winton’s vice principal, said: “21st century learners need 21st century technology to support them.

“Through our extensive pilots and work in the classroom we are certain this new learning initiative will allow the students to become independent and innovative thinkers, preparing them for the world they will enter when leaving school.”

It comes as a global study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concluded that investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology “does not improve pupils’ performance”.

The think tank said frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results, with its education director Andreas Schleicher arguing technology had raised “too many false hopes”.

Tom Bennett, the government’s expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been “dazzled” by school computers.

In the UK, the annual spending on technology in schools is £900m.