In February 2005, we calculated that the number of Internet connected PCs for students was only just at the nationally required ratio of 1:5. The school had invested very heavily the previous summer in new infrastructure and it simply was not reasonable to expect that we could go on buying more and more standard Windows XP boxes with high purchase costs and maintenance requirements. We had to find a different solution to bringing ICT to more curriculum areas.
Leverstock introduced us to a nearby school at which they had installed thin clients, we were most impressed, particularly with the ability to run multimedia software. We therefore decided to go ahead with a limited scheme to provide ‘proof of concept’. Leverstock installed a server and single terminal to enable us to assess exactly which programs could be delivered through a thin client solution and which might still require conventional Windows XP machines.
So successful was the proof of concept scheme that we immediately expanded our system. We now have a server farm with 2 servers and 60 thin clients distributed around our campus.