Victoria School in Poole is a non-maintained, Ofsted-Good special school. The school is celebrating GCSE success following an improved ICT infrastructure that launched in November 2021.

The school offers specialised, high-quality education, therapy and care for young people aged 3-19 and is partnered with Liveability, a disability charity that's committed to enabling children, young people and adults to live a life that adds up for them. Following funding from Talbot Village Trust, a local grant-giving charity in south east Dorset, ICT improvements included computers, robust Wi-Fi coverage and a faster network providing a platform for their student’s education and futures.

This year’s post 16 students were able to use the new equipment and state of the art software which has made a huge difference to their GCSE results. One student who has especially benefitted is Maddie. Maddie relies on technology in her education and through the new equipment is now able to use professional software to fully realise her talent in graphic design. The improvements are ongoing and due for completion this year, but the work already undertaken enabled Maddie to achieve a Level 4 in her Art & Design GCSE, higher than her predicted grade.

Maddie commented “I’m so happy with my GCSE results. I really like the challenge of working with IT and the new programs. They are not easy, but I am beginning to learn the skills to get better at graphic design. I enjoy working on computers in general and now we have the faster computers it means they don’t crash and go slow – it’s much better.”

Victoria School students rely on solid, fast and up to date IT infrastructure for effective use of their PC’s and devices. This is not only confined to classroom computers but extends to the devices the students use to communicate with and to control their environment. Over the years, technological innovation has offered increased accessibility options and career paths for disabled users. Given the rate of technological change, frequent investments into the school's IT provision is critical to the aspirations of students.

Maddie’s teacher David Henley added: “The £50,000 grant from Talbot Village Trust has provided my students with a much-improved learning experience without the frustrations they encountered with our older equipment. They have been able to use industry standard software in order to produce near professional work in graphic design, photography and video editing. I would like to thank the Talbot Village Trust on behalf of the students and staff”.

Maddie is due to return to Victoria School next year to gain further GCSE qualifications. Talbot Village Trust donates £1million each year in grants to organisations in south east Dorset. In 2021, the trust supported 53 organisations across community, education, youth, and faith and will continue to broaden their support for priority projects tackling climate change, mental health and wellbeing and education exclusion.