31 August 2023

Boggabri Public School students receive a boost with 90 new laptops

Until recently, Boggabri Public School (BPS) relied on around 20 working laptops for its 90-strong student population, with this important resource stretched thin across the school. However, that’s all changed as Whitehaven joined forces with fellow resources company Idemitsu to donate around 90 new laptops and ensure every Boggabri Public student has their own individual laptop to assist their learning journey.

BPS educates approximately 90 students from Kindergarten to Year 6, with the majority coming from small towns like Boggabri, Willala, and Wean. Established in 1873, the school has long been a critical part of the community, providing a local option for parents who would otherwise have to send their kids to Gunnedah for primary school – some 40km away.

Whitehaven has longstanding relationships with BPS and a range of local schools, often participating in site tours, demonstrations and presentations to students. While investigating the possibility of conducting a mining site tour with the kids at BPS, it became apparent that Whitehaven could have a lasting impact by addressing the lack of technological resources at the school, which equated to roughly one laptop for every five students.

Working together with Idemitsu – after previously partnering with them to support the opening of a Boggabri-based child care centre – Whitehaven formalised a split donation of more than $60,000 to deliver a laptop for every student at the school, ensuring the kids can maximise their education and no one is left behind.

“Technology is such an important element in the current education system,” said BPS Principal Ben Carter.

“It can be expensive and it’s certainly tough for small schools like ours to keep up with its constantly evolving systems.”

“We are very grateful to companies like Whitehaven and Idemitsu for providing these laptops. It’s important for the school to have the support of the local community, other educational facilities and local businesses.”

Whitehaven Coal General Manager Community Engagement, Darren Swain, said Whitehaven is pleased to contribute to the Boggabri community in such a meaningful way.

“Whitehaven has always believed the local community should be the main beneficiary of our presence. We’re focused on building local prosperity, improving quality of life, and ensuring our regional towns thrive so the benefits of our presence go beyond our workforce and beyond the life of any single mine,” added Mr Swain.

“We’re particularly committed to helping to build local community capacity through intergenerational investment in education, health, skills and infrastructure – and there’s no better way to achieve this than by investing in our schools.”

“We’re proud to be able to play a role in helping Boggabri Public School’s staff, and we thank them for all their hard work shaping Boggabri’s next generation.”

The laptop donation contributed to Whitehaven’s investment of $281,000 towards education initiatives over FY23, which is part of the $4.35 million contributed to community causes and projects over the year.

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