Stretford Grammar School (SGS) is a leading UK foundation school and specialist science college near Manchester. This non-fee paying establishment offers a high standard of education to around 700 students aged between 11 and 18. In addition to covering the National Curriculum’s five core GCSElevel subjects, SGS teaches a diverse range of subjects including Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Its dynamic sixth form college teaches A-level courses to students from the Manchester area.
SGS’s main ICT resource comprises dedicated ICT teaching rooms. Over time the school’s IT infrastructure had evolved to contain an assorted collection of IT hardware connected by a Local Area Network (LAN). However, this ageing infrastructure struggled to meet the demands of a modern educational establishment.
Like all UK schools, SGS is subject to periodic inspections by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Although a recent report looked reasonably favourably on the school’s performance, it identified weaknesses in the teaching of ICT due to a poor technical infrastructure. In addition, Ofsted urged SGS to use ICT to refine and develop pupil tracking systems by way of electronic student registration to help pupils achieve their full potential.
“The Ofsted Report confirmed our concerns about under investment in technology. Our IT infrastructure simply did not meet the needs of students and staff,” explains Jackie Byrne, Business Manager, Stretford Grammar School. “Reliability and performance were poor, there was no email facility and our administration processes were primarily paper-driven. We needed a cost-effective infrastructure to aid learning and perform administrative duties efficiently.”
SGS received tender documents from several suppliers, including Computer Systems in Education (CSE), a ProCurve Networking Select Partner. CSE immediately contacted ProCurve’s European Network Design Center (ENDC) in Boeblingen, Germany to propose an ideal solution for the school. At no cost, the ENDC worked with CSE and SGS to produce full design drawings, a parts list, detailed explanations and advice based on SGS’ specific needs.
After due consideration, the school selected CSE and its ProCurve Networking solution as its ICT partner. “The ProCurve/CSE solution offers good value, high performance and there is a good cultural fit. We wanted a partner with experience of schools’ everyday technology needs, and one who could give appropriate advice and guidance through a good working relationship. Compared to other bidders, CSE made everything easy to understand because it pitched at the right level,” continues Jackie Byrne.
At the heart of the school’s new adaptive network infrastructure are ProCurve 5400 series switches with a ProCurve Wireless Edge Services Module (WESM). ProCurve 2600 series PWR switches provide the required intelligence at the edge supporting ProCurve Radio Port 210 units for wireless hot-spots. They also offer the school Powerover- Ethernet (PoE) and allow it to deploy wireless access points, web cameras and similar devices that require an efficient external power supply. Gigabit Ethernet trunks offer appropriate port connectivity to enhance performance. The WESM solution delivers the school secure, advanced wireless services with simplified management and unified wired and wireless operations across the whole network.
To ensure a manageable platform and simplify network management, SGS employs ProCurve Manager Plus (PCM+) software. This complete Windows-based network management solution allows them to configure, update, monitor and troubleshoot ProCurve devices centrally from its main office.
In addition to offering enterprise-level solutions, HP ProCurve provides solutions to growing businesses like SGS where ease-ofuse and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) are top concerns. ProCurve network solutions are simple to deploy and involve little maintenance. Organisations can therefore focus on running their businesses, rather than managing their networks.
ProCurve offers high-performance products backed by ProCurve’s well-known lifetime warranty*. All products undergo stringent component testing. The warranty includes next business-day component replacement, free e-mail and telephone support for life and free network design services. Moreover, ProCurve’s extensive product line reassures schools and small businesses that they can readily expand their network infrastructures when required.
“The CSE and ProCurve solution has given us exactly what we wanted and ensures we fulfil the ICT requirements of the National Curriculum. This is important if the school is to maintain its reputation as a specialist science college,” confirms Jackie Byrne.
“In addition to enhancing the learning experience for students, we now have time to conduct our administrative duties more effectively. We have introduced electronic registration which simplifies pupil tracking. The effectiveness of the wireless implementation was apparent when we recently demonstrated its capabilities to another school; their staff were really impressed. As a school we would find it difficult to carry out all our roles effectively without this modern and easy-to-use ProCurve infrastructure,” concludes Jackie Byrne.
Stretford Grammar School needed a highly available, cost-effective and scalable networking solution to fulfil the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) requirements of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
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