OXFORDSHIRE schools IT company RM has won a £53m contract with the London borough of Newham.

RM, based at Milton Park, near Didcot, will provide Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for 11 years to the borough's Building Schools for the Future programme, covering 15 secondary schools and a sixth form centre, serving more than 19,000 pupils.

The Oxfordshire company will hold a 15 per cent stake in a consortium called the Newham Learning Partnership (NLP), led by Laing O'Rourke.

RM's chief executive, Tim Pearson, said: "The momentum of the BSF programme continues. This is the third project we've won since the beginning of the calendar year - ahead of our target and a clear indication that the quality of our ICT proposition is widely recognised."

RM has also been signed up by computer giant Hewlett Packard as the only UK distributor of its Mini-Note laptop for schools. RM will begin selling the unit in May in the UK and Ireland with a price tag of around £299.

Mr Pearson said: "Low-cost, high capability computing devices like the HP Mini-Note mean that educational establishments can realistically aim for one computer per student."

The company last week acquired a 25 per cent stake in Inclusive Technology, which supplies special educational needs and early years' products and services in the UK.