For more than 1,000 pupils the essential checklist of pens, notebook and PE kit is soon going to be joined by an iPad.

Longfield Academy has become the first school in the UK to provide all its pupils with iPads, our exclusive story in the Gravesend and Dartford Messengers revealed.

While some schools have already given the high-tech gadgets to some of their pupils, Longfield will the first to offer them to all 1,400 students, when new academy buildings open in September.

And that has come to the attention of senior executives at Apple who have visited the school to see for themselves where students will be using their apps.

Parents will pay £16 a month during three years for the iPad, which will be classed as a donation, attracting gift aid and pupils will be allowed to take them home.

The school has teamed up with an organisation called the e-Learning Foundation, who will use the gift aid to manage the scheme.

Valerie Thompson, chief executive of the e-Learning Foundation said: "This will be the first big deployment of iPads for pupils in the UK.

"It will have an impact on all children and we expect the school to get a lot of attention for this, to the degree we feel they should consider building a visitor centre!"

For three years the iPad belongs to the academy and after that the school has offered to make arrangements under tax rules to transfer the ownership to parents.

Alternatively parents can buy it outright for £576. In newsletters the school’s management team said: "Young people enjoy learning through technology which enhances motivation.

"This in turn helps them achieve better results. There is access to up-to-date information as text, sound, images and video in an interactive format and students can link easily with their work wherever they are."

The iPad has a 10-hour battery life, meaning pupils can use it non-stop in school hours, and pupils will be able to download some apps for free, including lesson and homework plans.

Mrs Thompson added: "Kent already has a long history of using the latest technology in schools, but Longfield will be the pioneers when it comes to iPads.

"They will discover benefits and drawbacks and will be able to help other schools."

"iPads will not replace paper, pens, whiteboards and presentations. They will be another tool in the box."