Editing Acorn Archimedes (section)

=== Education ===

Continuing Acorn's involvement with the BBC and its computer literacy initiatives, two of the first Archimedes models bore the BBC branding, as did the later BBC A3000 model.<ref name="acornuser198708_archimedes"/> Dissatisfaction with this arrangement was voiced by competitor [[RM plc|Research Machines]] and an industry group led by a [[Microsoft]] representative, the British Micro Federation, who advocated the use of "business standard" operating systems such as [[MS-DOS]]. Responding to claims that the BBC branding was "unethical" and "damaging", a [[BBC Worldwide|BBC Enterprises]] representative stated that the arrangement was "a continuing part of the original computer literacy project" and that bringing in "something totally new would be irresponsible".<ref name="acornuser198709_bbc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser062-Sep87/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Row blazes over Arc name | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1987 | access-date=18 April 2021 | pages=7}}</ref>

The range won significant market share in the [[education]] markets of the UK,<ref name="acornuser199103_100000" /> [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]],<ref name="acornuser199204_roi">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser117-Apr92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=News in Brief | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=9 | quote=EMCEE's task will be to build on Acorn's strength in Irish primary schools and increase the company's presence in secondary schools, where the main competition comes from Apple Macintosh computers. }}</ref> [[Australia]],<ref name="acornuser199610_australia">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser173-Oct96/page/n67/mode/2up | title=The empire strikes back | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Moxon | first1=Mark | date=October 1996 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=68–69 }}</ref> and [[New Zealand]].<ref name="acornuser199701_nz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser177-Jan97/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Acorn in the land of the long white cloud | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Moxon | first1=Mark | date=January 1997 | access-date=23 August 2024 | pages=24–26 }}</ref> Acorn's considerable presence in primary and secondary education had been established through the Archimedes' predecessors—the [[BBC Micro]] and [[BBC Master]]—with the Archimedes supplementing these earlier models to see Acorn's products collectively representing over half of the installed computers in secondary schools at the start of the 1990s.<ref name="acornuser199109_schools">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser110-Sep91/page/n14/mode/1up | title=More Micros in Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1991 | access-date=19 July 2021 | last1=Halpern | first1=Sharon | pages=13 }}</ref>

In 1992, the [[Tesco]] supermarket chain initiated its ''Computers for Schools'' scheme in association with Acorn, offering vouchers for every £25 spent in Tesco stores that were redeemable against software and hardware products including complete computer systems, with this promotional campaign taking place over a six-week period.<ref name="acornuser199205_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser118-May92/page/n8/mode/1up | title=A3000 on Offer at Tesco | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1992 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Over 15,000 schools registered to participate in the scheme and over 22 million vouchers were issued during the campaign period, placing the estimated value of the distributed products at over {{nowrap|£4.5 million}},<ref name="acornuser199207_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser120-Jul92/page/n14/mode/1up | title=Tesco Scheme: £4.5m-worth of Computerware for Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1992 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=13 }}</ref> although the actual value of distributed products was later reported as {{nowrap|£3 million}}.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_update">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n15/mode/1up | title=Tesco School Update | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=12 }}</ref> Tesco and Acorn repeated the scheme in 1993 on the basis of the response to the previous year's campaign,<ref name="acornuser199305_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser130-May93/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Tesco Offers Schools Bargains | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> distributing software and hardware at an estimated value of {{nowrap|£6.5 million}} to over 11,000 schools including 7,000 computers, and even introducing Acorn computers to some schools for the first time.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_update" />

Despite the benefit to Acorn of expanding its customer base, dissatisfaction was expressed by dealers and software companies about the effects of the scheme, with anecdotes emerging of a reluctance to buy equipment that could be obtained for free, thus harming dealer revenues, although Acorn's education marketing manager argued that the scheme's effect was generally positive and actually produced sales opportunities for dealers.<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_delivers">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n23/mode/1up | title=Tesco Delivers Acorns | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=20 }}</ref> The inclusion of software products in the scheme was regarded by one commentator as harmful to both the companies whose products were featured, these "not making enough profit from the transaction", and to those whose products were not, these seeing potential customers choose their competitors' "free" products. Noting that the scheme was "not purely philanthropic", concern was expressed about the effect on the Acorn market and that schools were needing to "resort to charities and publicity stunts to get the basic tools to do the job".<ref name="acornuser199311_tesco_letter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n93/mode/1up | title=No Free Lunch? | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=2 October 2021 | last1=Preston | first1=Geoff | pages=90 }}</ref> In response to such criticism, independent software titles were dropped from the scheme in 1994,<ref name="acornuser199405_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser142-May94/page/n12/mode/1up | title=Tesco Scheme '94 | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1994 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=13 }}</ref> which ultimately distributed products to over 10,000 schools including 4,000 computers, with a total of 15,000 computers having been given away over the first three years of the scheme.<ref name="acornuser199411_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser148-Nov94/page/n14/mode/1up | title=Acorn computers netted by schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1994 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=15 }}</ref>

With Tesco having expanded its presence in Scotland through acquisitions,<ref name="independent19940920_tesco">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/tesco-to-spend-pounds-65m-developing-wm-low-stores-1450175.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409040709/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/tesco-to-spend-pounds-65m-developing-wm-low-stores-1450175.html |archive-date=9 April 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Tesco to spend pounds 65m developing Wm Low shops|date=20 September 1994|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref> the Tesco scheme was extended to Scotland for the first time in 1995. Alongside updates to the featured product selection, the possibility was introduced of saving unredeemed vouchers for redemption in the 1996 campaign.<ref name="acornuser199505_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser155-May95/page/n13/mode/1up | title=Acorn and Tesco repeat Computers for Schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1995 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=14 }}</ref> By the end of the 1996 campaign, {{nowrap|£5.7 million}} worth of products had been distributed, with the scheme having distributed products worth a total of {{nowrap|£25.9 million}}, including 26,000 Acorn computers in its first five years.<ref name="acornuser199612_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser175-Dec96/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Tesco Computers for Schools update | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1996 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>

By the mid to late 1990s, the UK educational market began to turn away from Acorn's products towards IBM PC compatibles, with Acorn and Apple establishing a joint venture, Xemplar, to market these companies' products in the education sector as part of a strategy to uphold their market share. Through Xemplar's involvement in the Computers for Schools scheme, Apple products were featured for the first time in the 1996 campaign.<ref name="acornuser199612_tesco" /> Xemplar's involvement continued in subsequent years, introducing information technology training for teachers in 1998,<ref name="acornuser199801_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser190-Jan98/page/n48/mode/1up | title=Tesco further into school | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1998 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=49 }}</ref> and seeking to offer Acorn products in the 1999 campaign despite the turmoil around Acorn as the company sought to move away from the desktop computing market,<ref name="acornuser1998xmas_xemplar">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser202-Xmas98/page/n7/mode/1up | title=Xemplar's 'Last chance' mistake | magazine=Acorn User | date=Christmas 1998 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=8 }}</ref> subsequently selling its stake in Xemplar to Apple.<ref name="acornuser199903_xemplar">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser205-Mar99/page/n9/mode/1up | title=Acorn sells Xemplar holding | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1999 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=10 }}</ref> In 2000, Tesco changed its partner in the Computers for Schools scheme from Xemplar to [[RM plc]].<ref name="acornuser200003_tesco">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser218-Mar00/page/n56/mode/1up | title=Computers for schools | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 2000 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=57 }}</ref>

Acorn conducted other promotional initiatives towards the education sector. The Acorn Advantage programme, launched in September 1994, offered a loyalty scheme whereby points were accrued through purchases and redeemed for "curriculum resources" that included non-computing items such as musical and scientific instruments as well as computer hardware. Several commercial partners were involved in the scheme such as [[Petrofina|Fina]], which awarded vouchers with petrol purchases that could be exchanged for points, and the [[Midland Bank]] which would donate points to schools joining its Midbank school-based banking system. An Acorn-branded [[Visa Inc.|Visa]] credit card would also generate Advantage points for nominated schools.<ref name="acornuser199605_advantage">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser168-May96/page/n64/mode/1up | title=Acorn Advantage | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1996 | access-date=2 October 2021 | pages=65 }}</ref>