Carisbrook School and Brockville School were the proud recipients of 30 new iPad Airs yesterday, donated through the Laptops for Learning programme.
Carisbrook School received 20 iPads and Brockville School received 10.
The programme is a joint initiative between The Warehouse and children's charity Variety, which provides iPads to low-decile schools across New Zealand.
Carisbrook School principal Ben Sincock told pupils at an assembly at the school yesterday the iPads would be a welcome addition.
''Schools aren't funded nearly as well as they were 10 years ago,'' he said.
''What that means for us is the money we were planning to spend on IT [information technology], we still can, but it means we get double the number of devices for you to learn on in your classrooms.''
Brockville School principal Craig Hickford said the contribution was ''just stunning''.
''Technology is only one part of the equation, but it's a large part of the equation.''
The school was working towards having one such device per pupil within two years and yesterday's injection had expedited that aim, he said.
Variety chief executive Lorraine Taylor said the initiative was a way of ''levelling the playing field between the haves and have-nots''.
''We hear a lot about the digital divide that's happening in our societies.
''This is a way to open up the world to kids.''
The 30 iPads were worth about $19,000, Ms Taylor said.
She and Mr Walsh also visited schools in Gore, Mataura and Nightcaps yesterday and would visit schools in Invercargill and Bluff today.
In total, 102 iPads with a value of nearly $64,000 would be donated nationwide.
