I have similar requirements, so I am also interested in this change.
Tested -- this is going into the right direction.
Few notes:
1) What does "program source is maintained by Lazarus" mean in the description? The phrase seems awkward and not very meaningful, so perhaps it should be dropped (I do understand that it was copied from existing item, but still...)
2) This almost duplicates existing "Module/Custom Program" item. I suspect that one was added some time ago to satisfy similar feature request, but then mistakenly moved to "Module" category instead of "Project". It probably should be removed.
3) However, the "Custom Program" template contains additional lines:
3.1) {$mode objfpc}{$h+} -- I believe this is essential and should be included in "Simple Program" template, because it allows to compile the project from the command line (without complication of extra switches), which is both an important concept to teach the beginners and very useful for point (6) below.
3.2) uses SysUtils, Classes -- this is less important, but allows structured exception handling of standard run-time errors. Probably can be omitted...
4) "program project1" line is superfluous and should IMHO be dropped.
5) Since "Simple Program" probably means "Console application", "-WG" switch should be off by default.
6) Finally, I have closely related, but more complex, request -- introduce "Single-file mode" into Lazarus, where Lazarus does not create .lpi and .lps files, stores executable and object file in the same directory as source, and does not save desktop settings.
This mode can be triggered by either command line switch:
"lazarus.exe --single homework.lpr",
special directive in source:
{%singlefileproject},
or a heuristic:
enter single-file mode when passed a project name from command line,
and corresponding .lpi and .lps files do not exist.
"Project" menu item should be disabled/hidden in this mode.
The main use case, besides obvious beginner education, is competitive programming,
where in a typical contest participant may need to create 5-12 single-file projects in a time period of 3 to 5 hours.