Govan High School secures funding boost for WIFI

Tue 23rd June 2015

THE REALISING Dreams Foundation is delighted to handover a cheque for £4,000 to Govan High School to help them install wireless internet access.

Today (Tuesday) Govan High School headteacher Nancy Belford, depute headteacher Kevin Sweeney and senior pupils were presented with a cheque by Realising Dreams Foundation Trustee, Sam Hunter. The  £4,000 funding award will cover the majority of costs for the school to install wifi with the remaining amount being met by Glasgow City Council.

Govan HS Headteacher Nancy Belford feels the introduction of wifi will give an important educational boost to pupils.

“More and more we are living in a mobile world where people benefit from instant access to the internet.  This is especially true in our schools where teachers have for some time been reaping the rewards of using wired access to the internet to enhance their teaching programmes.

‘’The next step is the introduction of free access to the internet through a wireless system to extend those benefits to our pupils through their mobile devices and tablets.

‘’It is particularly important for a school in a recognised area of deprivation where we cannot be certain that all our pupils will have access to the internet in their homes. It will allow pupils the opportunity to boost their learning using the wifi for study at breakfast club in the morning and in supported study classes after the normal school day.

Nancy Belford added “We are extremely grateful to the Realising Dreams Foundation for their generous donation and have no doubt it will make a real difference to our pupils and their education.’’

Thanks to the funding, the installation programme at the school is now set for August with technical support from the education authority.  The wifi system will give anyone in the school building the ability to connect to the internet with all traffic being automatically run through appropriate filters to ensure the right level of safety for pupils accessing sites.

Sam Hunter, (standing on the far left) a Trustee of the Realising Dreams Foundation met pupils and staff at Govan High School to hand over the cheque.  She said:”We believe that every single pupil can grow their knowledge using the internet to build on their day to day education.  There is a world of information out there that can now also be at their fingertips at school, even if they are unable to access the internet at home.”

Ron Burges, Chair of the Realising Dreams Foundation concluded: “Being based in Glasgow, we were eager to find worthy causes to support which would make a real difference to young people locally as well as further afield.

“We have been in discussions with Govan High School about how our fund could support the innovative work of the school.  With more and more public facilities routinely offering free wireless access, we were delighted to be a major part of making that a reality for pupils from Govan High School.”

If you know someone who wants to make a difference; someone with a real talent, a drive and a dream, then the Realising Dreams Foundation might just be able to help!