THE CHALLENGE: FINDING THE RIGHT IT PARTNER.

When it comes to sorting IT projects, it’s important not only to find the time and budget to get started, but also to find the right supplier.

This was the case at Paulet High School & 6th Form College in Burton upon Trent, until the staff were introduced to First Class Technologies in 2021.

First Class has an established relationship with other schools in the John Taylor Multi-Academy Trust, so came highly recommended to the team at Paulet. Having found the right supplier, a number of projects at the school, including cabling and internet coverage were able to be completed.

THE OPPORTUNITY: STRUCTURED CABLING & WI-FI.

A priority project on Paulet High School’s ICT list was cabling, as the structured cable plant in the sixth form centre had become unmanageable, having outgrown a small floor-standing cabinet.

Another problem area was the wi-fi which was run by two separate, outdated systems – one in the sixth form area and another in the rest of the school. The wireless signal was unreliable, with lots of dead access spots with no wi-fi coverage.

As the access points regularly failed, the staff couldn’t rely on using the system for lessons. As a result, the school had a bank of equipment that just couldn’t be used efficiently because of the poor wi-fi coverage.

THE SOLUTION

Regarding the structured cabling, the estimated 150 data outlets in the sixth form cabinet were eventually discovered to amount to 178, which were transferred by First Class engineers into a larger, taller 47U cabinet. Each outlet was checked, tested, properly labelled and the cabinet patched with new UTP leads and cable management bars. As a result, the communications room became manageable, as tidying the cables made them easier to comprehend.

In terms of the wireless network, Ahsan Ashraf (Head of Business & Computing and Strategic IT Lead at Paulet), in conjunction with First Class, concluded that the current solution wasn’t fit for purpose and needed upgrading to newer technology, due to it causing staff issues with lessons and frustrating the pupils, staff and visitors who were unable to access wi-fi on-site.

First Class discussed refreshing Paulet’s original wireless network with a state-of-the-art Ubiquiti Unifi Wi-Fi 6 solution that has many benefits, including:

✔️ Greater overall bandwidth per user for ultra-HD and virtual reality streaming.
✔️ The ability to support simultaneous streams of data with increased throughput.
✔️ More total spectrum, split into more channels, giving more routes for communication.
✔️ Improved performance .
✔️ More robust solution for outdoor and multi-path (cluttered) environments.
✔️ Ability to offload wireless traffic from cellular networks where reception is poor.

The project identified the need for additional network outlets around the site to support the new technology. The survey of the three distinct buildings on site, namely the main school area, sixth form and the sports hall, identified that over sixty additional outlets would be required.

IN CONCLUSION

In order that there was no disruption to teaching, the IT works were completed out of hours, in the school’s twilight hours (after 3pm) by the First Class installation team. Each data point was ceiling mounted centrally in each area to enable good signal propagation.

Once the data points were in place, the next step was to upgrade the switch gear to support the Wireless Access Points with PoE switches whilst retaining the current configuration of the existing switches.

The final phase was the programming of the Access Points (APs) then installing them into the ceilings to establish the network. In total, there are 82 access points, giving 100% wi-fi coverage, campus-wide.

Richard Hinton, MD at First Class Technologies, says: “Structured cabling is an essential element of the backbone to any organisational building infrastructure. A cable plant ultimately connects networks to the Internet, allowing use of computing, wireless and audio visual systems to help us keep in touch with the rest of the world. Cables shouldn’t be an eyesore, and most definitely not a health and safety risk. Cable tidying and management saves an incredible amount of time and aggravation in the long run. First Class commonly assists organisations to manage the clutter of cables, helping to reduce the hazards that come with them, as well as to aid in protecting wires and cables from everyday wear-and-tear like abrasion and crushing. We design structured data cable plants to be effective, robust and resilient to make technology work for the organisation.”

Kelvin Jones, ICT Officer at Paulet, says: “We’re now really proud of the cable plant, and it’s so much easier to manage, as everything is in the right place and colour coded. First Class has made it all straight forward to understand and manage, so we can more easily identify the patch cables for faster connections, disconnections and device troubleshooting.

“We’re also pleased that, through fixing the cable plant, we also found the perfect supplier to help us with the school’s wi-fi. We were aware that we desperately needed a new wireless system, but it had to be done right if it was going to be invested in, so we were looking for the right ICT partner. Once we met the team at First Class, it was clear how much knowledge and experience they’d got. They understood our school’s requirements, needs and challenges, so were able to provide the right solution at the right price. We now have all the access points we need and the wireless solution is running faultlessly. Thanks to First Class, Paulet’s technology has now been brought into the 21st Century! It wasn’t worth trying to use the internet for lessons before, but now the school is able to use its bank of laptops in lessons, and the students can use their own devices as part of the lessons too, as everyone has their own individual log-in, including the pupils, staff and even school visitors if required.

“We’re so pleased that we commissioned First Class Technologies to help us. The team’s knowledge, service and expertise is second to none. They’re great to deal with, and have done a fantastic job for the school.”

Ahsan Ashraf, Head of Business & Computing and Strategic IT Lead at Paulet, says: “We knew what we were looking for in terms of the solution, we just needed to find the right ICT provider to help us. The First Class team has been accommodating and a joy to work with. Our staff and students are able to use our wireless network effectively, which complements teaching and learning and will allow exploration of educational technology as we now have a resilient wireless network. I am very pleased with the service and support we received, and the end result is perfect!”

First Class Technologies is proud to work with academies within John Taylor MAT (Multi-Academy Trust), as well as many other schools, colleges and other educational and commercial organisations.