Stonehenge School, Wiltshire, UK
Stonehenge School complement state-of-the-art learning environment with Boxlight Mimio technology.
Amesbury secondary school partners with Boxlight Mimio to bring revolutionary technology into the classroom; enhancing the learning experience and future-proofing the school ahead of continued expansion.
The number of students at Stonehenge School has increased over the last four years due to growing feeder schools and an influx of military families returning from overseas. To cater for the demand, the local authority decided to make a significant investment in facilities and resources to expand the provision at the school. A new building containing 23 new classrooms and office space for teachers and support staff was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal in July 2019, complete with Boxlight Mimio teaching and learning technology.
Installation Snapshot:
Boxlight Mimio Technology
An 11-16 school delivering Key Stage 3 and 4 education
840 students on roll with increasing demand for school places
23 new classrooms and office suites built on campus
Future-proofing the Learning Experience
Stonehenge School have introduced and integrated transformational solution to reinvigorate the school curriculum and get students excited about learning.
Working with Boxlight Mimio
Boxlight Mimio and Oakford Technology work together to bring interactivity and collaboration that engages students and teachers at Stonehenge School.
The Challenge
The school had been relying on a mishmash of ageing technology which was fast becoming unfit for purpose. Failing projectors meant teachers were constantly wasting time recalibrating screens and requesting bulb replacements. Aware of the impact this was having on learning, the leadership team were resolute that this could not become an issue in the new development.
With countless research concluding that learning is being held back by poor access to IT, the school were keen to ensure that their new classrooms featured full-access technology that enabled richer and more meaningful learning experiences at every opportunity.
Assistant Head Teacher, Tracy Roberts was responsible for overseeing IT infrastructure at the new building. “We wanted our technology to feel like CSI: immersive screens that you can touch, share content across and utilise to inspire students. This was an opportunity for us to push the boundaries, to develop our teaching beyond books and paper; to reinvigorate our curriculum and get the students excited about learning.” Having spent years building up a wealth of resources on proprietary platforms such as Promethean ActivInspire and Smart Notebook, it was important that teachers didn’t lose access to thousands of lesson plans and activities, that they could pick-up where they left off without having to worry about starting over from scratch.
Finding the Right Solution
Oakford Technology are Stonehenge School’s long-term tech partner, providing consultancy and on-site support. Having spent years repairing and extending the life of old equipment, Oakford knew all-too-well the frustrations and obstacles that teachers faced on a daily basis.
“Part of the appeal of the MimioDisplay was no more maintenance or calibration” says Oliver Gee, co-founder of Oakford Technology, “straightaway we were on to something good”.
“For the last 10 years, an interactive whiteboard with a separate projector has been the standard in the classroom; the drawbacks being that the image quality is so poor that children can’t actually see the content in detail. Better technologies such as the MimioDisplay have a really clear image, the panel doesn’t need to be as big, which saves a lot of space in the classroom, and ultimately improves student engagement.”
MimioStudio, the award-winning classroom software was also selected. Not only for its powerful collaboration and assessment tools, but its ability to open and edit multiple types of files, including the school’s ActiveInspire and Notebook resources.
Coupled with the brilliance of the 4K UHD MimioDisplay interactive flat panel, the school unanimously decided to implement Boxlight Mimio across the new development.
“We’ve been working with Boxlight Mimio for a number of years and we’ve trialled their technologies. We’ve installed them in other schools, and we’ve a good working relationship which was crucial to us with the new building at Stonehenge School” says Oliver.
To ensure a swift and seamless integration process, the Boxlight Mimio and Oakford team ensured Stonehenge School had all the equipment and tools necessary for the MimioDisplay installation. Evaluation units, software trials and in-person demonstrations were also arranged so that key school staff were familiar with their new technology.
Before moving into the new classrooms, the team returned to the school to deliver a training session, ensuring teachers could get to work quickly, with the basic understanding to hit the ground running.
In the following months, Boxlight Mimio returned a number of times to give specific training for different departments, showing how to best utilise the technology to deliver inspiring lessons in their subject areas.
“The support from Boxlight Mimio has been amazing. They’ve joined us several times to help with training and no request seems silly. For those of us who are new to IT, they’ve been extremely supportive, and our staff can now go forward knowing their ideas can come to life in the classroom.”
Tracy Roberts – Assistant Headteacher
The Response
“I’m surprised at how flawlessly we’ve moved into our new classrooms” says Tracy Roberts, “it’s been a real dream”. “The class is engaged, the students are now so accustomed to having crystal clear screens with good sound quality that they don’t expect anything less, it’s wonderful.”
“Our teachers have spent a long time building a bank of resources and being able to transfer them straight over to MimioStudio without any need for adaptation was really important. It was seamless, and it has meant that the staff felt reassured every step of the way.”
However, it’s not just teachers and students who are enjoying learning with Boxlight Mimio, IT staff have been reaping the benefits too.
“Staff are getting much more hands-on and embracing it” says Network Manager, John Thompson. “Having Boxlight Mimio reliability in the school means my time isn’t wasted fixing smart boards every day like I’ve done in the past. Teachers are able to get on with their lessons immediately, without having to worry about the equipment. Boxlight Mimio has made my life a lot easier!”
“Integrating Boxlight Mimio was an easy decision, especially as we can see how well it has performed. It saves time, saves effort and most importantly improves outcomes for students. This technology is preparing them for life in the workplace, and it’s been a very positive step forward for us.”
Nigel Roper – Headteacher
Looking Ahead
With more building work on the horizon, the decision to extend Boxlight Mimio technology across the rest of the campus has already been confirmed.
“I can’t see us going back” says Nigel Roper, Headteacher.
“Boxlight Mimio has become an integral part of the teaching and learning experience at Stonehenge School, and a transformational journey for our community.”
