Honywood Comprehensive School in Coggleshall, Essex sent out letters to 1,200 parents this week informing them their children will receive a new — and free — iPad 2 by the end of the year, reports “T3” (http://macte.ch/HkEi2).

In return, parents are being asked to donate £50 towards insurance. Deputy head teacher Rache McGowan told “T3″ that “the focus of our work here at Honywood is on improving learning and one aspect of this is to make use of the best technology we can access.

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”T3” contacted Apple, who stated it wasn’t an official deal, but a school in Scotland equipped its pupils with the first generation iPads last year. A school in Maine became the first in the world to give out iPad 2s to its kids earlier this year.