Special Report: UK Independent Schools
Special Report: UK Independent Schools
Welcome to Pearlfinders’ second quarterly special research report of 2009, following the successof February’s report into Premiership football clubs.
According to figures published by the Independent Schools Commission (ISC) there are more than 2,500 independent organisations around the country offering an alternative to mainstream education and charging average fees of £3,751 per term for the privilege. Despite the recent economic downturn and scandals over price-fixing, the UK’s educational elite seems to be holding its own. With the summer holidays approaching - traditionally a busy time for projects requiring a lot of downtime - Pearlfinders has profiled ten of the top private schools from around the country, speaking to a range of senior decision-makers about the issues they face.Broadly speaking, large schools confront similar challenges to enterprise-sized businesses. Their IT teams are charged with providing support for large userbases and are responsible for introducing pupils to constantly-evolving technologies in preparation for working life. This means that investment in new equipment is a rolling process, with early adoption fairly common across the board. Several of the decision-makers we interviewed have already embraced techniques such as virtualisation or VoIP and others are considering the feasibility of doing so.
One division that emerged throughout our conversations lay in the attitude decision-makers take to future development. Some are pursuing a strategy more closely aligned to corporate ideals, while others are looking to retain their unique identities as schools. The Director of IT Development & Services for Wellington College told us that he’s in the process of completely overhauling the school’s systems to more closely resemble a commercial model. Security is an obvious priority, but he’s also looking at developing a comprehensive disaster recovery plan and is considering the implications this might have
for storage requirements. Other decision-makers prefer to organically develop the infrastructure at their organisation. The ICT Network Manager for the Royal Grammar School, Guildford told us that he doesn’t like to be pitched complete solutions and instead looks for modular improvements that can be integrated into the existing setup.Connectivity is a significant priority for all of the schools we spoke to. Wireless access is increasingly common and the use of mobile devices is becoming pervasive. At some institutions - such as St Paul’s School - this takes the form of allowing access from
pupils' own iPods or Blackberrys, while The Perse School for Girls goes so far as to issue all of its sixth formers with laptops. Magdalen School, Oxford is exploring the possibility of introducing wireless technology across its campus, but is being hampered by the age of some of its buildings. On-site installation and support needs to be flexible when dealing with heritage locations.In some respects, independent schools would appear to be a supplier’s dream. Large budgets coupled with rapid adoption of new technologies means that work is always going to be available, but getting an offering considered can sometimes be an up-hill struggle. Generally speaking, the more commercially-aligned organisations are more receptive to external input and advice, while the more conservative prefer working from the more traditional channels of networking and word-of-mouth recommendations. Budgets don’t tend to be an issue – one decision-maker told us that he now spends more on Microsoft software licences than his entire annual allowance for his previous role at a state school. Schools we spoke to universally value innovation, relevancy and support quality over cost.
Wellington College
We speak to the school’s Director of IT Development & Services about his vision for the use of technology. He talks to us about his interest in embracing commercial techniques in an educational setting and the importance of supplier input to this process.
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Magdalen College School
We speak to the IT Administrator who reports directly into the IT Manager and overall decision-maker. He outlines the challenges involved in working with old buildings when looking to introduce new technologies.
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The Perse School for Girls
We profile the setup at this Cambridge-based school with the assistance of a key member of the IT support team. He explains the pressures involved when working with certain companies and the importance of ‘student experience’.
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St Paul’s School
The IT Director of this London-based school outlines a number of initiatives he’s recently undertaken, including VoIP and virtualisation. He tries to maintain a "forward thinking" attitude, looks to embrace cutting edge techniques and has a major long-term development project in the pipeline.
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Westminster School
We speak to the Network Manager responsible for supporting 700+ pupils. He discusses the importance of networking and building a presence in the sector when looking to work with independent schools.
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St Paul’s Girls’ School
An interim IT Director is holding the fort at this establishment. He speaks to us anonymously about sector-specific challenges and the importance of an appropriately balanced approach.
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Winchester College
We speak to the ICT Technician with day-to-day responsibility for resourcing and support at this 14th Century school. He talks about mistakes suppliers commonly make and gives advice on how to improve an approach.
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RGS, Guildford
The ICT Network Manager for this high-profile grammar school reveals the preferences he has when it comes to supplier appointments. He also discusses the wasteful nature of traditional collateral and suggests alternative routes of introduction.
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Guildford High School
We speak to a key IT team member at this all-girls establishment about the importance of research prior to any approach. He also outlines the stratifying process he applies to external companies, and the criteria that are applied to each.
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Withington Girls
We profile the existing setup at this Manchester school which caters exclusively to girls. Strategy development is led by a Network Manager who has responsibility for around 600 users.
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