New Products and Services

RM PLC
10 January 2001


10th January 2001

   RM plc DEMONSTRATES EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE AT BETT 2001
RM plc, the leading supplier of information and
communications technology (ICT) to UK education, will be
showing a range of new products and services at BETT 2001 -
the UK's major educational technology show - which opens
today in London.  RM will be demonstrating innovative online
content and enhancements to its managed service offer, as
well as the latest developments of its core RM Window Box
and RM Community Connect products.

New Products and Services
* mathsALIVE! - a mathematics digital learning service pilot
being developed by RM for the Department for Education and
Employment - is being shown for the first time at BETT 2001.
mathsALIVE! combines sophisticated ICT infrastructure with
innovative learning content to provide a complete
mathematics course.  The 20-school mathsALIVE! pilot
programme is already providing a glimpse of a whole new way
of using technology to improve standards and will offer
valuable insights into the future of educational ICT.

* RM Maths Quest, SuccessMaker Internet and Destinations
Internet are being shown publicly for the first time at BETT
2001.  RM Maths Quest has been developed as a result of the
strategic alliance signed with Riverdeep in June 2000 - the
product has been localised to suit UK culture and curricula
and is targeted at Key Stages 3 and 4.  SuccessMaker
Internet and Destinations Internet are new, Internet-enabled
versions of the highly successful ILS products licensed to
RM by Computer Curriculum Corporation. Together these
products provide a broad portfolio of web-enabled numeracy
and literacy learning systems.

* Easiteach, which uses Internet and innovative display
technology to support whole class teaching, has been
enhanced with a wide range of online and downloadable
mathematics resources.  These include materials developed as
a result of the strategic alliance with Reed Educational and
Professional Publishing announced in December 2000.

* RM's managed service products now include a Mission
Critical Guarantee, which sets out a series of performance
guarantees based on key targets such as speed of response
and time to resolve problems.  RM's managed service products
are used in 400 schools across the UK and the Group actively
manages over 20,000 individual desktops.  The Mission
Critical Guarantee gives schools the confidence that their
ICT systems will offer consistently high availability and
reliability.

* RM's managed service products are being underpinned by the
development of sophisticated ASP-delivered services such as
the newly launched RM SafetyNet Plus.  RM SafetyNet Plus
gives schools a straightforward way of managing what
Internet material pupils can - and can't - have access to.
School managers are provided with an easy-to-use, browser-
based toolset that allows them to control what sites are
filtered.

* RM is also announcing the opening of Sheldon Heath City
Learning Centre (CLC), the first of Birmingham local
education authority's six CLCs.  CLCs are part of the
government's Excellence in Cities programme and use
innovative technology to bring enhanced learning
opportunities to disadvantaged inner city areas.  RM is
working with Birmingham LEA in a £1.25 million project to
provide advanced ICT facilities including Internet access,
wireless networking, interactive whiteboards and video
editing facilities.  All of this ICT is being provided as a
managed service with RM taking on the responsibility of
managing and maintaining the complete CLC network.

Richard Girling, Chief Executive of RM plc commented:

'RM's content business is developing rapidly and BETT 2001
is a great opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of our new
products and services.  We will be showing a complete
portfolio of Internet-delivered mathematics learning systems
- from primary school to lifelong learning.

'The mathsALIVE! Pilot, announced in November, demonstrates
the direction for future educational ICT developments.  The
digital learning service RM is creating brings together a
wide range of teaching and learning resources - some
traditional and some at the cutting edge of new technology.

'Our experience with Easiteach, along with the lessons we
are learning from the mathsALIVE! pilot, show that ICT can
be used to provide a completely integrated learning
experience.  Our partnerships with Reed, Riverdeep and CCC -
along with other partnerships we expect to see developing in
the future - position RM to be at the heart of this new way
of delivering learning.

'The Sheldon Heath CLC is an excellent example of managed
services in action.  We've worked in partnership with
Birmingham LEA to make available highly innovative ICT
resources - RM will make sure they work, allowing Birmingham
LEA to extract the maximum educational benefit.  Managed
services are absolutely the right way for schools to procure
ICT.  They offer high reliability and availability and put
technical responsibility where it belongs - in the hands of
the supplier.'


For more information please contact:
Mike Greig/Phil Hemmings, RM plc, 01235 826000

Deborah Done, Brunswick, 020 7404 5959