A pupil using one of the donated Surface Pro 7 tablets running FydeOS.
School profile
Základní škola a Mateřská škola J. A. Komenského is a public primary and nursery school in Prague 6, Czech Republic. It serves 479 pupils and is committed to integrating digital literacy into its curriculum while working within a publicly funded school's budget.
The challenge: bare hardware and software limitations
The journey began when the school received a generous donation of ten used Microsoft Surface Pro 7 tablets from the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute. While the hardware was high quality, the devices were delivered as "bare hardware": securely wiped and lacking any operating system.
Jan Macháček, the school's ICT coordinator, faced a significant problem. The school needed a platform that was:
- Child-friendly: simple enough for young pupils to navigate independently.
- Fully functional: capable of supporting the Surface Pro 7 touchscreen and Surface Pen.
- Budget-conscious: sustainable for a publicly funded school with a limited software budget.
For this project, the school initially ruled out Windows because the hardware was older and the team did not want to rely on an operating system path that would create long-term support and security concerns for young pupils. The school subsequently tested ChromeOS Flex, but in this specific Surface Pro 7 deployment it did not provide the touchscreen driver support the project needed, and it could not run the Android apps required for the school's digital learning goals.
The solution: the FydeOS transformation
The discovery of FydeOS for You unlocked the use of the donated devices. FydeOS worked smoothly on the Surface Pro 7 hardware, providing support for the touch interface and Surface Pen, as well as Android app access for learning tools.
Just as importantly, FydeOS fitted the school's day-to-day workflow. Pupils could use a familiar Google Account sign-in, while the school's IT team could manage the tablets centrally through the FydeOS console. That made it realistic for multiple pupils to share a single repurposed Surface device while keeping their own credentials and classroom experience.
The result: impact and future rollout
Today, the ten donated tablets have been put into service as responsive, centrally managed and child-friendly learning tools. FydeOS is installed and licensed on all ten Surface Pro 7 tablets, with a five-year FydeOS for You licence covering the full group of devices.
"The tablets reached us as bare hardware. ChromeOS Flex couldn't drive the touch screen; FydeOS made all ten work at minimal cost."
— Mgr. Jan Macháček, Teacher and ICT Coordinator
Full classroom rollout is scheduled for September 2026. The project illustrates how the right software can reinvigorate older hardware, extend the value of donation programmes, and boost digital adoption at a reasonable price.