By Daniel McKeown
A Doncaster school devastated by fire has turned to social networking tools to kick-start its recovery. Campsmount Technology College suffered extensive damage in the blaze on Saturday, including the destruction of its internet server.
But staff are back online using an interim website, Facebook and Twitter to get the head’s core message out to students and their families: “We'll make Campsmount even better than it was, and it was a fantastic school.”
Headteacher Andrew Sprakes (below) used YouTube this week to reassure his students that every effort was being undertaken to ensure that outcomes for their academic work would be unaffected.
The school is using the internet and its interim Campsmount Technology College website to launch a vibrant appeal for organisations to donate a laptop apiece to help get the school back online by early 2010.
“If every school and business we know would pledge us one decent laptop each, we will have a real fighting chance of providing our young learners with the fantastic education that they deserve,” says the school’s Pledge a Laptop (PAL) campaign.
Assistant headteacher Jamie Portman says the response has been impressive: “We launched at about 11 o’clock this morning and so far we have had five laptops come through."
“Whether it’s five or five hundred laptops, it’s all part of our campaign to gain momentum and support from the local community. That’s just after a few hours, so we’ll see.”
Mr Portman was straight to the point about the advantages of the school’s use of social networking: “It’s free and it’s quick – it’s instant.”
The new official Campsmount (Fire updates) group on Facebook, which gives updates on school matters including revision sessions and projects, and provides a discussion forum, has more than 1,500 members
A statement from the school says: “We believe that this is the first time a school in the UK has embraced this type of technology, for this kind of incident.
“We have received many positive emails about how pleased parents, staff and the local community have been with the speed of updates.”
The school has also attracted interest from the BBC which aims to run stories focusing on families affected by the fire, the school’s sixth formers and the use of social networking.
Other fundraising initiatives include the Year 11 students playing a football match against another local school in a kit donated by Doncaster Rovers.
Headteacher Andrew Sprakes added: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support that we have received from everyone.”
More Information
Be a PAL - pledge a laptop
BBC coverage of the blaze
ITV coverage below
Students have also posted their own video tributes (below) on YouTube
Daniel McKeown is a freelance journalist. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
