The role of the BBC Micro wasn't just about what the kids had at home. It was about providing kids access to a machine -- many kids wouldn't have had computers at home. It was also about providing a framework, lessons, course materials, TV shows, etc all centred around development on a standard system. It's what encouraged other home computers to run BASIC (for example the Locomotive Basic, which is what the Amstrad CPC ran, was heavily influenced by BBC Basic).

The BBC Micro was a massive influence to the education of IT, to the home computing industry and to 80s kids (even if sometimes indirectly).

Locomotive BASIC was indeed influenced by BBC Basic, but I think you'd have a hard time arguing that the Spectrum (direct descendant of the ZX81) or the C64 (developed in America) were, and they were by far the two most popular micros in the UK.

I didn't say the C64 and Spectrum were directly influenced by the BBC (though I can see why you read my comment that way) but that the wider industry was. eg Parents bought kids BASIC systems because schools had BBCs so the C64, whilst often just used as a games system, was bought because it was also "educational".

If it weren't for the BBC, I'd wager far fewer homes would have had BASIC-based micro computers and thus that industry would have been much smaller.

Yeh but we could have just easily as put ZX Spectrums into schools and had twice as many

As far as I can remember my school didn't have BBC Micro's we had Commodore Pets when I was doing O levels

Not sure why we didn't have any BBCs though

Sinclair wasn’t interesting in targeting that demographic, which is part of the reason Chris Curry left Sinclair to found Acorn. And you can see the difference in the build quality of machines like the ZX vs the BBC Micro. I’m really not convinced ZX Spectrums would have lasted long with a school of, often unmonitored, children banging away at the computer.

Not to mention that the BBC Micro came with a proper monitor. Granted home users could get away with plugging their computer into the TV but buying a TV for their computer would have been an extra cost for schools.

Commodore PET is a few years older than the BBC Micro so that might be why your school has then instead?