Computer, Web and Media Services

The main aim of the Computer Services Department is to deliver a prompt and effective IT support service via a single point of contact for both staff and students. In addition to providing first level support, the department is tasked with maintaining the school's data, telephony, security and audio-visual infrastructure and all associated IT equipment.

The primary network operating system is Microsoft Windows Server 2019, upon which runs the schools Active Directory environment, file and print services, as well as an extensive number of virtual servers. We are currently migrating desktops to Windows 11. The preferred deployment method is Windows Deployment Services running alongside Microsoft Deployment Toolkit.

Virtualisation technology is provided by the VMWare ESXi hypervisor operating system in a 3 node cluster, each connected at 160Gbps and managed by VMWare vCentre Server. This environment also has direct management of both the physical and virtual server environments including the Dell network infrastructure for Madeley Academy.

Within the virtual environment, features such as High Availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and VMotion are taken advantage of, providing automatic redundancy, failover and the ability to move live virtual servers between cluster nodes on the fly.

The School has a significant Internet presence at Telford with a primary 1Gbps connection and a diverse secondary 1Gbps connection. Multiple dedicated web servers running Windows IIS, host all online content, including Thomas Telford School's Online Curriculum and web sites. Additionally, Madeley Academy and Redhill Primary school's web sites are hosted within our datacentre. Historically our content has reached over a million students nationally, and over 1,000 schools have previously subscribed to our online content. All servers are managed and maintained by the Computer Services staff.

A Sophos XGS Firewall solution was installed in the summer of 2022 with the deployment of 2 Sophos XGS450 Appliances.



Internet content filtering, malicious content filtering and network firewall services are a selection of the services managed by these devices. Additionally, redundancy and failover of the schools 2 internet connections is also managed by these appliances, ensuring that the school does not experience any internet down time.
This is complemented by Sophos Anti-virus products, which are installed site wide to provide the school with protection against virus infection and the installation of malware and spyware.

Network maintenance and system monitoring is managed centrally. All PCs have remote management capability, which enables the system administrator to monitor, and if required, take control of any PC where a student may be having difficulties.

For 2 decades, high specification Dell Workstations have been the corner stone of IT in the classroom. Offering extreme reliability and performance, these workstations provide a solid solution for computer provision throughout the school.
Additionally, Dell is also the preferred provider for our Server and Storage solutions within the schools dedicated data centre environment. Dell PowerEdge servers provide the power and capacity to run all of the schools computerised systems and extensive virtual server estate.
The Dell PowerStore solution provides a reliable and scalable storage platform for the school's data storage requirements.

Our video editors take advantage of numerous professional facilities to capture, edit and produce the professional content that can be seen every week in the schools broadcast and on numerous achievement videos throughout the year, as well as any content required for the school's online curriculum. HD cameras are primarily used to capture content, whether it be on the sports field, green screen equipped recording studio or throughout the school itself.
Adobe Premier Pro is used to edit and produce the captured footage.

Within the Computer Services Department there is a continued desire to move the existing technology forward and maintain Thomas Telford's position as a leading City Technology College both academically and technically. To this end we intend to continue to research new technologies that will complement the delivery of the curriculum. We believe that we are able to make available a range of exciting tools that will make the learning experience for our students both effective and enjoyable.