Students in Clydebank are to benefit from new laptops and free internet access to help with their education.

West College Scotland (WCS) secured a grant from Connecting Scotland to help connect homes that are normally "digitally excluded" because of the cost.

The internet has been central to keeping education moving throughout the pandemic and the college said they were delighted to be getting 90 Chromebooks, 24 months of internet for each student, and a mifi mobile wireless hotspot device to connect remotely.

These kits will benefit students from low income households, digitally excluded families and young care leavers across WCS's three campuses.

Angela Pignatelli, assistant principal of creativity and skills at WCS, said: "We’re delighted to have been successful in this third round of Connecting Scotland bids.

"This funding and digital investment is critical in bridging the digital poverty divide across the regions we serve; some of which are the most deprived areas in Scotland.

"Equipping our students with Chromebooks and nifis will help enable them to engage with their studies and goes a long way to ensuring that no one is left behind.”

WCS said the pandemic had increased financial instability for many and that could make the cost of education too high.

Students of ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) at the college are either new migrants, asylum seekers or refugees, who face added barriers as they try to start a new life in Clydebank.

College bosses said they were helping the ongoing New Scots Refugee Integration strategy and getting more new residents integrated through work, study, family and their communities.

WCS got more than £97,000 in funding through the third phase of cash from Connecting Scotland, an initiative which aims to help 60,000 households.