Valerie Singleton 'on the button' with silver surfers

Fomer Blue Peter presenter Valerie Singleton OBE has been surfing with Bournemouth school pupils and pensioners.

The iconic TV presenter was at Avonbourne Business and Enterprise College supporting pupils with an IT course they’ve designed specially for OAPs in their community.

More than six million over 65’s in Britain have never used the internet.

Year eight girls at the Harewood Avenue school hope their course will help local pensioners overcome their ‘techno fear’ and embrace computers.

Valerie is an avid campaigner nationally to get more elderly people to join the digital age, and when she heard about the girls’ ‘silver surfer’ course offered to visit Avonbourne to find out more.

"There are so many fantastic benefits for elderly people using the internet,” she said.

“It’s so much more than booking airline tickets. They can stay in touch with relatives overseas and order their groceries online rather than having to traipse to the shops.

“I’m very impressed with what the girls are doing here at Avonbourne.”

The four girls behind the course - who call themselves the Internet Rangers - came up with the idea as part of the school’s enterprise curriculum.

“They wanted to do something with IT that would give back to the community and not just ‘be about money’, said Kathryn Loughnan, head of IT at the school.

The girls hope to launch the free course during the summer term on Tuesday afternoons in the school’s Creative Technology Suite.