[weberer]

>and those who naively think Ubuntu and LibreOffice can realistically replace the public sector's dependency on Microsoft

I was writing book reports on that exact stack over a decade ago. Its perfectly fine for students. Most people don't even explicitly chose Windows. They just use and adapt to whatever comes with their computer.

>forcing Linux and LibreOffice down the throat of elderly office workers.

Let office workers chose their needs on a case by case basis. But that shouldn't affect the stack you give to students.