The task
In September 2003, Patchway High School in Bristol gained official
Business and Enterprise Specialist School status.
Although Patchway High already had a “school” website,
they asked Net.Mentor to design, develop and build an additional
site with specific focus on Business and Enterprise.
Net.Mentor started with a blank computer screen and, working with
Associates Aikonmedia and key
members of the School’s management team, set about designing the website.
The brief required a strong focus on visitor interactivity and
the creation of an online community, with opportunities for sharing
best practice and resources. There was also a need for visitor
moderation and data protection, requiring a database-driven content
management solution.
A limited budget was fixed at the start of the project and had
to include all images and CMS coding.
Throughout the development of the site, Net.Mentor used Aikonmedia’s
on-line “sign-off” software to ensure clear and unambiguous
communication between the School and the developers to approve
content, images and design elements.
The solution
Using content generated by the school,
regional and national businesses and Net.Mentor, a
35+ page website was launched in May 2004 and
is linked directly with the “school” site.
The site includes registration-restricted access to certain areas,
moderated forums and an easy-to-use content management system.
The project remained on-budget, despite a slight increase in
initial page numbers. This was largely due to the use of ‘open-source’ software
Typo3,
which provided an elegant solution to the potentially costly content
management issue.
Net.Mentor also provided on-site Content Management training and
advice on meeting accessibility guidelines on the “school” site.
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The outcome
Patchway High now owns a website that reflects both the School’s
newly won status and its intention to drive the Business and Enterprise
agenda in both the commercial and education sectors.
With recent appointments as a regional B&E training centre
for the Specialist Schools Trust and DfES, the new site provides
Patchway High with a powerful tool for online learning and development.
The development brief created some particular challenges for
both the school and Net.Mentor, as Vernon Williams, Patchway’s
ICT Business and Enterprise Manager explains:
“Having a vision of an Internet presence
and fulfilling the technical requirements of an ever-changing
environment is a challenge for most companies. As a school, the added responsibilities
of education meant that we could not meet this challenge internally
and develop a site that would have desired impact. Net-Mentor
led us through this process with complete commitment to the project,
offering advice, guidance and technical knowledge that is at the
forefront of web development.
It cannot be easy for an outside agency
to deal directly with teachers – most of the time it is not possible to contact
us directly. Net-Mentor’s development of an online
process for signing-off each individual stage of the project ensured
progress was maintained to the final deadline.” |
