A SCHOOL is beginning a pioneering in-class technology trial with the help of industry giants Apple and Orange.

Students at Felsted School have been handed Apple iPads, iPod Touches, and MacBooks to be used in lessons, and also Orange has supplied mobile phones to housemasters and mistresses.

Billed as an ‘enhanced teaching platform’, the two-year project aims to research how best to support teaching in the classroom using the independent co-educational boarding and day school as a blueprint.

Assistant headmaster Dr Nick Dennis is a keen advocate of innovative teaching methods and has been instrumental in bringing in the new technology.

“This system has enormous advantages for students,” he said.

“Not only is it an efficient multi-function tool to aid learning in the classroom, but it also allows students to stay connected to the school community at all times.

“This pilot is an opportunity for Felsted to model good practice and to embrace the future of technology in schools. We are constantly striving to help students fulfil their potential.”

Felsted is an Apple Regional Training Centre for education, and the trial will be involved in the teaching of history, classics, biology and economics.

This term, students will use the handheld gadgets to take notes, record lectures, and even photograph diagrams and images.

The personalised devices also have numerous administrative and pastoral advantages.

Timetables, calendars, sporting fixtures, maps and general school information can be accessed at all times – also, in an emergency, students can be contacted immediately and given vital instructions.

As Felsted embraces the educational technology the school’s experience will be closely scrutinised, with assessments being carried out at the end of each term.

The research will then be analysed and potentially rolled out to other schools in the UK.

Further information about Felsted can be found at felsted.org.