SCHOOLCHILDREN throughout Blackburn and Darwen are being given laptops to take home in a £147,000 pilot scheme.

Council bosses said the new recruits at Darwen Vale and Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High schools would be able to use the high-tech handheld computers to do homework and work on projects with other students.

The “ultra mobile” PCs will allow the year sevens to access the internet using a secure service that blocks unsuitable sites.

And the move will be rolled to all schoolchildren in the borough as the £150million Buildings Schools for the Future programme develops.

The mini laptops, which were funded by a government grant, are also being trialled at the humanities department at St Bede’s High School.

They are seen as part of a drive towards personalised learning, with lessons and homework tailored to each youngster’s individual ability.

Darwen Vale headteacher Lynn Dunning said: “Children will be able to work at their own speed, do their own research around topics and work together and independently to learn beyond set homework. Using modern technology helps prepare them for the world of work."

And Mufti Hamid Patel, principal at Tauheedul, said: "Our year sevens are very excited by the prospect of being able to use innovative technology to try learning in new and engaging ways and contribute to the learning of all young people in the borough in the coming years."

The £150m programme aims to build, replace or model nine of the borough’s high schools by 2016.

Darwen Vale High School and Engineering College will be one of the first schools affected. In 2010, work will start on significantly refurbishing the Blackburn Road site to bring it up to modern standards, whilst keeping the original frontage.

In August the government gave the council’s outline plans the goahead and confirmed funding for the project.