This package contains two cassettes with four items: an oral spelling test, a multiple choice vocabulary quiz, a maths drill, and Estimate, to help in mental arithmetic. An A4 hard-back ring binder contains all the information needed to load and use the programs.

The package is designed for children aged five to adult. An ambitious claim, yet one that is achieved by allowing you to input data in two of the programs - Spelling and Word Drill.

The two maths programs offer different skill levels that adjust as the work progresses, and up to five or six pupils may work at the same time.

All the results are shown at the end and, in one case, a high-res smiling face is formed at the correct answers are given. A nice idea, particularly for schools, is the option to print results.

I found the spelling and vocabulary work too slow for general classroom use. Having put my own data in it took between ten and fifteen minutes per child. Good at home, however, allowing reinforcement of school work.

The maths work, by contract, was very good in school.

There's a lot of potential for this sort of package and it bodes well for the Dragon's future as a school-based computer.

M.P.