BBC AND GRANADA IN £42M EDUCATION DEAL

THE BBC and Granada have been offered a contract and funding by the Department of Education and Employment (DfEE) to develop new digital interactive resources to support the teaching and learning of GCSE subjects.
The six subjects to be supplied by the BBC and Granada are English, French, Geography, History, Maths and Science.
The DfEE’s £42 million investment will involve Granada and the BBC supporting each of the six GCSE subjects through a series of digital video, interactive, printable worksheet, collaborative and web resources. These would be made available in an easy-to- access way to students and teachers in school classrooms and at home.
The two companies will work together to ensure that resources for all six subjects are developed on a consistent basis and will be easily accessible to users in a coherent way. For the first time every GCSE student will have the ability to access a digital textbook as well as their ordinary textbook.
In addition to the requirements of the DfEE contract, the BBC will ensure that material is available to support the different curricular requirements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Michael Stevenson, Joint Director of BBC Factual and Learning, said: “We welcome the DfEE’s announcement. This is an exciting step in bringing the full benefits of digital technology to the classroom and the home.”
Steve Morrison, Chief Executive of Granada PLC, added: “We are delighted to take on this £42 million Government contract with the BBC to deliver the core GCSE curriculum to British schools. We believe teachers, students and parents will all benefit from this service and congratulate the Government on their initiative.”
The allocation of the six subjects between the BBC and Granada is yet to be finalised, but the two organisations will ensure that resources for all six subjects are developed on a consistent basis and are accessible to all users.
The contracts to be awarded to the BBC and Granada follow separate tests in schools of the material developed by the two organisations last year.
The first courses should be available in September 2002 and it is hoped that some materials will be introduced on a pilot basis during the school year 2001/02. (AMcE)