Re Contract

RM PLC
26 October 2000


RM awarded government contract to pilot IT-based mathematics
digital learning service for 11-to-14 year olds

RM plc, the leading supplier of ICT to UK education, today
announced that it has been awarded a Department for Education
and Employment (DfEE) contract to develop a digital learning
service for Key Stage 3 mathematics.  The contract is part of
a £5m DfEE initiative to develop technology-based courses in
three key curriculum areas.  The RM digital learning service - 
which will be called mathsAlive! - builds on RM's existing
strengths in producing interactive content for maths education
and will further develop the Group's expertise in creating
whole programmes of learning.  3T Productions, RM's
interactive web design subsidiary, will produce new
interactive content for the service.

The DfEE announced its plans to pilot Key Stage 3 digital
learning services in January 2000.  The pilot is intended to
trial year-long courses delivered predominantly through IT and
addresses three specific curriculum areas - a core subject
(mathematics), a teacher-shortage area (Latin) and a modern
foreign language (Japanese).  RM was awarded the mathematics
contract following an open competition that attracted the
attention of a wide range of established educational
publishers.

RM's digital learning service will be developed in conjunction
with leading educationalists and teachers and will be based on
the new National Numeracy Strategy's teaching framework for
Year 7.  The pilot programme will include 20 schools and will
run from October 2000 through to the summer term of next year.

Richard Girling, Chief Executive of RM plc, commented:

'RM already has a widely used range of interactive mathematics
learning technologies that is transforming traditional
teaching methods.  mathsAlive! takes this one step further and
pioneers the use of IT to deliver substantially all of a Key
Stage 3 mathematics course.  We're delighted to be working
with the DfEE to push forward the frontiers of teaching and
learning in the UK.'
'This project is also an excellent example of the new areas of
activity that RM can address following the acquisition of 3T.
RM's curriculum and classroom technology expertise, combined
with 3T's design and web skills, positions us well to develop
this kind of service.'

Further Information

* The course will include complete sets of materials for
  whole class teaching using interactive whiteboards, individual
  work on and off the computer in class and for homework,
  Internet based project work, and computer based assessments of
  progress.

* mathsAlive! complements RM's existing range of
  mathematics learning products and services, which includes RM
  Maths Learning System, SuccessMaker, CCC Destinations,
  Riverdeep Destination and RM Easiteach

* The DfEE pilot is intended to develop technology-rich
  methods for delivering programmes of learning as an
  alternative to traditional approaches.  The DfEE's Key Stage 3
  Educational Service Pilot Prospectus states:

  'Traditionally, there have been few attempts to produce
  whole courses (as long as a term or a year) which could be
  accessible through ICT...The DfEE is keen to stimulate the
  further development of innovative educational content that
  utilises the full range of available technologies to support
  the raising of standards and widens access to the
  opportunities offered by ICT...The pilot projects will point
  towards imaginative ways in which ICT integrated into the
  classroom can be used in the future to drive up standards,
  contributing towards an enriched vision of how education
  will be delivered in the future...A range of Key Stage 3
  courses delivered predominantly through ICT will be a major
  addition to the Government's educational ICT agenda..'

For further information contact:

Mike Greig/Phil Hemmings      RM plc         01235 826000

Andrew Fenwick/Deborah Done   Brunswick      0207 404 5959