N E W S EUROPEAN ELECTRONIQUEWINS


CONTRACT TO DESIGN, IMPLEMENT ANDMANAGE ICT FOR UK’s FIRST FREE SCHOOL


EUropEan ElEcTroniqUE, a provider of icT solutions to academies and free schools, has been awarded a five-year contract to design, implement and manage the entire icT requirements for one of the first free schools to open in the UK – theWest london Free School in hammersmith. Due to open later this year, the


West London Free School is viewed by many as the flagship project ofMichael Gove’s education reforms and was the first free school to sign a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education. The latest figures show that 281


groups have applied to set up their own free schools in 2012 and the West London Free School will be one of the first to open this month.


‘An innovative ICT


system that reflects the school’s wish to have ICT integrated within the curriculum’ European Electronique will


provide an exciting and innovative ICT system that reflects the school’s wish to have ICT integrated within the curriculum and to specialise in music. In striking a balance between on-site and off-site ‘cloud’ services, European Electronique will be breaking new ground by implementing one of the first Microsoft Office 365 deployments in Britain’s schools. Office 365, a key component ofMicrosoft’s ‘School in a Box’, will provide the school with the Office suite from the ‘cloud’ and will include email, office web applications, storage and SharePoint services. Staff and pupils will benefit from ‘anywhere and anytime’ access to both applications and data.As well as convenience, the technology will


bring significant efficiencies and cost savings in storage, processing and management requirements. TobyYoung comments: “The


West London Free School will provide a traditional, grammar school curriculum to a genuinely comprehensive group of children and in order to do that effectively it will need to be as imaginative and innovative as possible in its approach to teaching and learning. That means an effective ICT system is absolutely essential.We have chosen European Electronique as our strategic ICT partner as the company demonstrated a very clear understanding of our school and the challenges we face and put forward a highly innovative solution that represents excellent value for money.’’ Yolanta Gill, CEO at European


Electronique, told Technology in Education: “It is very exciting to be involved in one of the first free schools to open in England. We believe all eyes will be on the school’s development and ICT will play an important role in helping the school achieve its goals.Working closely with the Microsoft team and implementing one of the first instances of Office 365 for education underpins our innovative approach and determination to push the boundaries of new technologies.” Steve Beswick, head of


Microsoft UK Education stated: ‘’We have been working closely with theWest London Free School, helping develop innovative thinking around new delivery models for ICT.We are delighted that European Electronique has been awarded this project and we will be supporting them all the way.’’


Circle No.E20 Technology in Education No.185 September 2011 32


Hitchhiker discovered by university with first microscope of its type in the world


ThEmiTE seen above, one tenth of a millimetre across, was an unexpected find when scientists at the University of Brighton were testing their new state-of-the-art electron microscopes in the university’s new £23m huxley building inmoulsecoomb, Brighton. The mite, identified by the


Natural HistoryMuseum as a ‘motile hypopus’, was imaged as it was taking a ride on a leg of a millipede to search for richer feeding grounds. The new cryo-electron


microscopy system, the most advanced in the South East, produces images sharper and faster than others by freeze drying samples in situ, enabling the study of samples that would otherwise be impossible to examine. Dr Jonathan Salvage,


research fellow in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, explained how the QuorumTechnologies’ PP3000T cryo-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) system works: “The millipede was collected from a


colleague’s garden – it was snap frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196°C and then sublimed under vacuum, a technique providing for the controlled removal of water, and thus freeze dried. “Many samples possess a


moisture content which means they cannot immediately be placed in the high vacuum chamber of the SEMas they would boil and de-gas, destroying the sample. “By snap-freezing the


moisture, it is contained and controlled. The sublimation then provides the careful removal of the frozen water by changing it from solid to gas form without it entering a liquid phase. Thus water is removed and the sample’s delicate architecture is preserved.” Dr Salvage, academic head


for the school’s image and analysis unit, said the £500,000 system was the first operational instrument of this kind installed in the world and marked a significant breakthrough in electron Continued on page 46


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