A regional daily has stepped up its campaign to secure computers for disadvantaged children after hearing of the struggles faced by its patch’s schools.

Sheffield daily The Star launched its Laptops for Kids drive in September and urged readers to donate computers to bridge a “digital divide” which means children who are most in need cannot study away from school.

Now The Star has called for more to be done to help pupils after hearing new government measures “don’t go far enough” to mitigate issues caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Pupils in England sitting GCSEs and A-levels next summer will be given advance notice of topics and allowed to take in exam aids, but a number of Sheffield schoolteachers have expressed concerns about disparities in learning within the cohort.

The Star splashed on the issues raised by the teachers on Friday, pictured above.

Paul Haigh, headteacher at King Ecgbert School, told The Star: “Exams are run on a standardised national model for all students, but the impact on the virus has not been the same across the country.

“Some of our students at King Ecgbert School have been contact traced three times now and have spent almost as much time at home this term learning remotely as in school.”

David Dennis is chief executive of Tapton School Academy Trust, which runs four secondary schools in Sheffield.

He said: “I remain concerned that the processes will not take into account the individual experiences of all the students and hence will not be fair for every single student.”

In an accompanying editorial, Star editor Nancy Fielder wrote: “If the punishment in your day was being sent to sit in the corridor when you were naughty, imagine sitting at home knowing lessons are taking place online but you can’t join in because your family can’t afford a laptop.

“It is worse because it is going on for months and these are often gifted teenagers who simply won’t have the same chances in life as they would if there were given fair chances.”

She added: “We shouldn’t have to do this but we do and together we can solve this problem even if those in a position to solve this easily can’t be bothered.”