Walkers launches homework site

Walkers Crisps has created a website to encourage children across the country to display their schoolwork online.

The site, called Walkers Showcase, has been launched following the success of the Free Books for Schools scheme, which began in 1999 with the backing of News International. Five-times Olympic gold medallist rower Sir Steven Redgrave is also supporting the scheme.

The talent showcase is open to 34,000 schools throughout the UK, which will each be allocated space to exhibit work. Participating schools can post children’s artwork, poems and essays on the site. Multimedia files can also be displayed to allow youngsters to show off sporting, acting and musical talents.

Walkers president Martin Glenn says the company has distributed more than 5 million books to schools across the UK in the three years since the scheme began.

He adds parents of children about to enter secondary schools will be able to use Showcase to research the standard of schools in their area.

Showcase has an in-built security feature to protect children’s identity, which allows parents or teachers to search a school using only the first letter of the child’s surname.

The site is free to use and will be flagged on packets of Walkers Crisps, point-of-sale material and through a PR campaign in schools.

Glenn says: “This is a simple idea to help schools encourage children to show off their work.”

The site was designed in conjunction with TAG, a company specialising in educational technology.