Case Study

Headteacher Katrina Handford has consistently championed the role of digital infrastructure in modern education. Her ambition was clear: to rethink how technology supports both learning and leadership at Kent College. Class Technology Solutions was invited to support that vision and help put it into action.

From the start, our work has been based on partnership. Together with the school’s leadership team, we developed a plan for digital transformation. The first phase focused on infrastructure. We replaced legacy servers, upgraded Wi-Fi, and accelerated hardware refresh cycles. Moving core systems to the cloud was a key step, improving security, resilience, and access across the school.

With a stronger foundation in place, our focus turned to the classroom. Teachers were equipped with Microsoft Surface Pros as a first step towards 1:1 learning. The approach was designed to build confidence and allow staff to explore new ways of working before student devices were introduced. Adoption was faster than expected, and within ten months, two year groups were routinely using 1:1 devices in lessons.

The benefits were practical and immediate. With a more stable and responsive network, support tickets dropped significantly. Collaboration across teams improved and teachers began using tools like Teams and OneNote to communicate, plan, and share. Admin processes were simplified with a custom SharePoint homepage and digital forms, reducing manual work and freeing up time.

For students, technology is becoming an everyday part of learning. Some use their devices for research and writing; others prefer to work visually or with shared documents. What matters is that the systems now support a wider range of approaches, allowing pupils to work in ways that suit them best—reflecting the school’s commitment to valuing each individual and helping them contribute as global citizens.

We continue to work closely with Katrina and her team to build on this progress. Ongoing training and support, including engagement with Microsoft’s Accelerate and Demonstrate initiative through Tablet Academy, has helped shape a confident digital culture across the school. Kent College is now working towards becoming a Microsoft Showcase School.

What makes this partnership work is shared intent. The school leads with vision; we provide the planning, continuity and expertise to support it. The result is a technology environment that’s not only more robust, but more responsive and ready to support both academic ambition and meaningful, purposeful learning.