Bristol City Academy, established in 2005, was the first such school to be opened in the South West and is known for its superbly equipped high technological environment.

In 2003, Fortress GB was approached by the Academy consultants. They envisioned RFID cards having a prominent place at the all new Academy campus. To ensure a smooth transition from the old building to the new advanced school, they wanted to introduce RFID cards while staff and pupils were still at the old building, allowing them to get used to having cards as well as to the new system. Fortress was asked to pick one application and roll it out within a record breaking time of only six weeks. Rising to the challenge, Fortress developed a bespoke registration solution designed to get pupils familiar with the registration system and to encourage them to attend school on time.

This first stage proved to be a great success, with pupils quickly getting used to wearing their RFID cards daily and using the cards for registering their attendance. The next stage of the project involved implementing a complete RFID multi-application card based system at the new Academy, including bureau, cashless cafeteria, registration and access control.

The Project’s First Stage
Appreciating the requirements of the Bristol City Academy, Fortress GB created a unique electronic registration solution for the school. Each of the school’s 1,200 students was issued with a Fortress multi-application RF smartcard. Three RF readers were installed at the school’s main entrance to record attendance information.

Reward points were given to pupils according to the time of their arrival and registration. Early comers got up to 15 points, while late arrivals received no reward points – the earlier the arrival, the more points awarded. At the end of each term pupils with the highest attendance rates received a prize from the school. Pupils were delighted with their personalised cards, and the registration loyalty points system was such a success that pupils began to arrive at school earlier than ever before.

Upon entrance to the school, pupils simply held their RFID card against a registration reader and the date and time of their entrance was instantly recorded. Fortress’ registration solution reports showed the exact time that each pupil entered the school.

Matt Causon, IT Manager at Bristol City Academy explained; “We needed a state of the art registration system that not only met our requirements but also fitted in with the technological aspect of the Academy. Fortress’ solution was the perfect choice. The future-proof multi-application smartcards also allowed us to widen the scope of the solution over time at relatively little extra cost.”

Following the success of the first stage, Bristol City Academy went on to implement Fortress’ Cashless Cafeteria at its new campus. Pupils and staff at the Academy now have the option to load their cards with cash and use them to pay for school meals. Since the cashless cafeteria application was implemented, efficiency at lunch time increased, and stigma attached to free-meals was reduced. Bullying and money theft were also reduced. Pupils entitled to free school meals now enjoy anonymity when paying for their meals as all payments are made in the same way - using Fortress’ smartcards.

The Project’s Second Stage
The project’s second stage included fitting the Smart School Solution to the all new Academy building. Fortress was required to implement the Cashless Cafeteria as well as to integrate to third party physical access equipment.

Thanks to the open platform design of the Smart School Solution, Fortress was able to quickly deliver the required integration to third parties.

Fortress’ Issuing Station was installed so that all cards can be centrally produced and distributed ‘in-house’ via the Academy. This allows the Academy the flexibility to issue new cards when required for new pupils and visitors or when cards are lost. The Academy also enjoys the benefit of controlling the cards, with the ability to easily block cards and check transactions made with the cards.

Fortress’ Cashless Cafeteria concept was ideal for the brand new City Academy. In keeping with the Academy’s advanced technology, the cashless cafeteria environment consists of four tills fitted with Fortress’ RF readers and a kiosk for uploading money onto the RFID cards e-purse application. With Fortress’ cashless environment, meal times at the Academy are incredibly quick; with all 1,500 pupils being served within 90 minutes.

Further Developments
The Issuing Station and cashless cafeteria are only two facets of Fortress’ multi-application Smart School Solution. The solution is designed to provide maximum flexibility and growth over time allowing schools the freedom to stagger the activation of applications as and when the school is ready without having to re-issue cards. The solution can also be integrated to the school’s management system.

Further applications include access control, registration (including sms text messages alerting parents of their child’s absence), printing and photocopying, interoperability with third parties (including local transport systems), e-purse for use with vending machines and increased parental involvement with the school through a secure website that details information on each child’s attendance and e-purse purchases.