Redhill Primary School: a class act

The network also includes the largest educational video conferencing system in Europe. A further £4.5m has been spent in schools in the area, to provide additional software and on training teachers to use the system. Altogether, in the Telford and Wrekin area, some 24,500 schoolchildren in 86 schools can use the system.

This rosy picture of the school and the local education authority is not the complete view. Any serious reliance on technology is prone to difficulties. For instance, if a Smart Board fails to work properly, teachers may have to abandon parts of a well-planned lesson. There are also additional running costs.

• Mrs Noel-Storr explained: ‘Our biggest running costs are for printer cartridges. What the children see on the screen is often so interesting they want a print out.’

The other main difficulty is an educational one, and reflects the way the Internet has not yet come to accommodate children well. Many websites that have useful information for school children, are written for adults. This can make it difficult for young children to understand, as they may not have the literacy levels required.

• ‘Even so, it's not that bad,’ said Mrs Noel-Storr, ‘the children collaborate and work out what the words they see on screen may mean so, in a sense, the Internet is very good for raising literacy levels and promoting group working.’

Clearly, Redhill Primary School is a successful and fun place to learn. In a survey, 99 per cent of all Redhill parents said that their children enjoy going to school. Not many schools can report such a high level of enthusiasm.

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