School children could one day be swapping all their books for a single computer, according to the boss of a hi-tech Oxfordshire firm.

Tim Pearson, chief executive of computer company RM, based at Milton Park near Didcot, said: "One day children will not have to carry books around in satchels. The texts they need will be on their computers."

The company, which specialises in the education sector, is hoping to cash in on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's commitment to boost the Government's annual education spend by 2.8 per cent over the next three years.

It is currently producing a an easy-to-use computer for schools priced at £169.

Speaking as the company unveiled its annual financial figures, Mr Pearson added: "The company won five out of the nine contracts in the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme during the year."

RM is also pushing forward its development of software that allows exam papers to be marked online.

Mr Pearson said: "Last year there were 18 million sides of A4 marked this way. I will happily tell anyone that computers improve the accuracy and consistency of marking exams."

And he added that the developing National Pupil Database could one day allow teaching programmes to be tailored specifically for each child, according to their aptitude.

The business announced pre-tax profits for the year ending September 30 2007 rose six per cent to £15.5m. Turnover was also up at £270.9m from £262.3m in 2006.

RM now employs 2,300 people worldwide, of whom about 1,000 work in Oxfordshire.