Former president Nelson Mandela officially opened "the world's first space-age" school at Freedom Park informal settlement south-west of Johannesburg on Monday. The school, Freedom Primary, will accommodate 750 pupils aged from seven to 13 under the wing of some 20 teachers at the "world's first clicks-and-mortar" school empowered by learning materials from orbit. The aim is to provide space age education for disadvantaged children by means of a partnership between satellite data-casters, WorldSpace, its IT partner Fujitsu Siemens Computers and the Gauteng Department of Education. World Space invested R4,5 million in the project to build 27 classrooms with a staff room, media centre, library, toilets, running water and power. Said Mandela: "I praise the learners and teachers of Freedom Park for their success in using satellite-based technologies to enhance educational outcomes, and I praise the public and private role-players for innovative interventions in an area of dire need." He added, "Candle-power has been replaced by computer-power, giving the school's 750 learners and 20 teachers easy access to a world of knowledge." Now the Freedom Park pilot has been launched, WorldSpace and its IT-partners plan to deliver similar systems to numerous African countries. Rollout has already commenced in Kenya and Rwanda, while pilot projects are being conducted in Mauritius, Ghana and Senegal.