1. LAPTOPS – a caution

2. Every year a committee made up of parents and school staff reviews the laptops available on the market, and the kinds of support and other issues related to them, and then makes a decision about what should be the recommended machine for the following year. This is an elaborate, time-consuming and careful process. The decision is not based purely on price, but also takes into account service guarantees and also what features the machine will or will not support.

3. There is a general understanding that the reliable lifespan of a new laptop is about three years. That is one of the reasons why our teaching uses laptops for pupils only from Gr 9 – otherwise each pupil would have to buy two during his school career.

4. One of the features of the package involving the recommended machine is that we are able to guarantee on-site service: if a machine cannot be fixed by the next business day, we have machines available to loan out to boys, so there is no question of a boy being without a machine for more than a day. BUT …

5. … our Help Desk is only able to provide this service in relation to a recommended machine: if a boy has another model he is likely to have to take it to his dealer for repair, and that can create a significant delay. Please note that all Gr 9 boys are charged a once-off laptop support fee, regardless of which machine they have.

6. If a Grade 8 boy has a laptop he will have little opportunity to use it in class, but of course there are still plenty of benefits. However: he will probably need to buy another before he finishes school, and if his machine is not the same as the school’s recommended machine, then he runs the risk of not having on-site hardware support.

7. In short, we encourage parents to wait until the school is able to announce its recommended machine and package, round about September of the Gr 8 year, before buying a laptop for their son: there is little to be gained by purchasing earlier except potential difficulty.