Yes2Chess

Players in secondary schools can struggle to practise. Your computer or smartphone can be a sparring partner, but that's not the same as playing real people. You can play online but the behaviour and language of some adults is pretty terrible.

But now...

What is Yes2Chess?
Yes2Chess is a free online schools’ community, which schools from the UK, the USA. Germany, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Denmark are eligible to join. Each school may sign 100 pupils up to the Yes2Chess server, where they will be able to play chess against children from all over the world in a safe environment. Only children who are registered to Yes2Chess by their school teacher or chess tutor will have access to the server, and there is no chat function. We do not capture any pupil information, including pupils’ names. Each child will have a unique username that only their schools will have access to.
Later this year, we will release a series of online lessons, which can be enjoyed from the comforts of home or school.

(From http://www.englishchess.org.uk/yes2chess/)

Devon Junior Chess Association has been allocated 100 slots to play. If you would like to try it, get in touch and I'll send you your login details and the software needed to log in. I think at the moment you need a Windows computer to play.