COMPUTERS FOR PUPILS - CASE STUDY
St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School, Elephant & Castle, Southwark, South East
London
Head Teacher: Dr Irene Bishop
Project Manager: Sue Long
School category: Church of England Voluntary aided
School status: Girl’s Comprehensive – secondary school and sixth form
Number of pupils: 732, with 104 in Sixth form
Pupils aged: 11 - 18
How many with specialist needs: 25%
Languages spoken: 50
Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals: 39%
St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School is a Comprehensive, voluntary aided Church of
England school for girls aged 11-18 sited in a disadvantaged area near Elephant and
Castle, in the London Borough of Southwark.
The school is extremely popular but follows a conscious policy of admitting girls from
less affluent backgrounds; many are from single-parent or low-earning families. The
majority are of ethnic minority heritage, with some fifty languages spoken by pupils at
the school. There is a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs, or
who are entitled to free school meals.
The school has the full backing of parents and works with a wide range of partners to
improve provision for its own pupils, to give support to other schools and to act as a
beacon in a wider sense, as an example of what an inner-city school, serving a
disadvantaged community, can achieve.
The school has been working hard to close the digital divide in the area and give
pupils the opportunity to hone their IT skills. “We are extremely aware of the way
computer technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and we want to make
absolutely sure our girls have the IT skills necessary for their chosen careers and
everyday lives,” explained Sue Long, Project Manager at St Saviour’s and St Olave’s.
At Key Stage 3, pupils have one 50 minute lesson per week in ICT. In Year 10,
students also have one lesson a week, geared towards taking the European
Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) qualification. The school currently has pupils
taking a GCSE in ICT, and girls are working towards AS and A2 level in the Sixth
Form.
“We are extremely lucky that our staff are very enthusiastic about ICT and are very
aware of the digital divide and the importance of providing all young people with
equal access to IT,” added Long. “ICT is a very important part of our curriculum and
an area we are looking to develop rapidly”. The school has recently set up a Virtual
Learning Environment (VLE), and as the school expands the use of its VLE, it is
looking at ways it can provide all its pupils with home Internet access.
“We are fully aware of the importance of home Internet access as an extension of a
pupil’s study time and hope to eventually be able to provide this service for all our
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pupils,” Long explained.
St Saviour’s & St Olave’s believes the e-Learning Foundation has been invaluable in
underpinning its e-learning strategy. The school successfully applied for a grant from
the e-Learning Foundation in 2006 and has used the grant to set up a home laptop
scheme for its sixth form pupils.
“The e-Learning Foundation, which has assisted us in providing a laptop leasing
scheme for our sixth form has had a huge impact on addressing the digital divide,”
Long said. “It ensures that wherever our sixth formers are they can now log in and
get on with their studies”.
Under the terms of the school’s laptop leasing scheme parents are asked to pay a
deposit of £100 if their daughter is in Lower Sixth and committed to a two year course
and £150 is she is in Upper Sixth. The girls have use of the laptops for a maximum of
two years and can, if they wish, take them on to University, thereby forfeiting their
deposit. Where families may have difficulties in finding the deposit, the school will
help.
“The scheme only started this year, so it is impossible as yet to judge the impact but
we expect this scheme to be a key driver in the raising of achievement levels for our
pupils”, said Long.
The pupils are extremely enthusiastic about the scheme and Long said it has been a
great morale booster. The pupils have noted a dramatic difference in their level of IT
access. “We are not fighting for computers anymore,” said Laura Sefton, a Sixth
former. “You get more work done,” added Shireen Ibrahim, also a Sixth former.
Teachers have also been fast to recognise the benefits of the e-learning scheme. “It
enables girls to do enhanced coursework” commented Mrs Sue Holland, Travel and
Tourism Teacher.
“Having an association with the e-Learning Foundation benefits us also by providing
us with additional networking and somewhere else to go when we need advice”,
added Long. To insure the long term success of the scheme, Long said the School
will now look to funding from Livery Companies in the City of London it has links with,
as well as its own Foundation.
St Saviour’s and St Olave’s is now engaged in talks regarding ‘Building Schools for
the Future’ and actively developing its ICT plans. Its aim is for pupils to graduate
having the self-confidence to apply their knowledge of technology to adult and
working life.
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