Flying classroom takes off at school

24 Nov 09

In what is believed to be a world ‘first’, a former airliner is being used as a school classroom – and is being protected by the latest Vista PowerDome Pro cameras.

The former airliner has been refurbished for use as a winged classroom at Kingsland Primary School, Bucknall.

Since its arrival at the Stoke-on-Trent school, the Shorts S-360 plane, complete with wings, fuselage and undercarriage, has been transformed into a flexible teaching space, and fitted with interactive whiteboards, laptops and storable seats and desks.

“Staff at the school invited pupils to offer ideas for a new outdoor classroom. An aircraft, a castle, and a tree house were just a few of the many ideas,” said head teacher, David Lawrence.

"An aeroplane may seem like an outlandish choice, but it actually makes a great deal of sense, ecologically, practically and financially.

“We have efficiently recycled a decommissioned airliner that would normally have been scrapped, and given it a new whole new lease of life. Plus, it worked out significantly cheaper than a traditional outdoor portable cabin classroom.”

Since the 72ft long aircraft was delivered, the children have also been involved with the interior design of the aircraft, in a project named ‘The King's Wings’.

Comprehensive system

The school reinforced its perimeter security with a comprehensive CCTV system three years ago.

This consisted of Vista PowerDome cameras covering the external and key internal areas, such as entranceways and corridors.

The school was impressed with the initial installation involving Lee Taylor of Taylor’s Security Solutions and commissioned the company to extend CCTV coverage to the unique new classroom.

Taylor said that after installing the original Vista PowerDomes, he had no hesitation specifying the latest version to cover the aeroplane classroom

“To provide maximum scene coverage of this unique learning facility, we installed Vista Powerdome Pro VPP-H23D-WP-C cameras mounted onto specially installed poles, to maximise the advantage of their high-resolution images.”

The cameras have a choice of high-performance colour and day/night module options, including the vandal resistant and weatherproof housing models used at the school.

With a manual speed of 160deg/s and maximum preset speed of 540deg/s, the functionality ensures fast object tracking and smooth preset tours.

Zoom capabilities of 23x enable easy identification of objects or individuals around the aeroplane classroom and surrounding grounds.

High contrast scenes

A Wide Dynamic Range permits effective surveillance within the high-contrast scenes in the school grounds, especially around the aircraft, where lighting can vary from bright sunlight to dark shaded areas under the wings.

Here, the WDR function compensates, making any individuals easily identifiable against the backlit scene.

Automatic Gain Control boosts the camera’s video gain in low-light conditions, allowing more accurate identification of individuals at night.

This feature has already allowed the police to identify and prosecute several individuals who had gained unauthorised entry to the site.

“In addition to the obvious security benefits of protecting the significant investment we have made in the new classroom, the Powerdome Pro cameras and the high-quality images we gain from the CCTV system have yielded some additional and unexpected benefits,” said Lawrence.

“We have found the images invaluable for general health and safety enforcement at the school, and even use everyday situations captured on the system to illustrate examples of good or bad behaviour to the children.”

Taylor’s Security Solutions had to adhere to strict timescales on the installation, ensuring the classroom was ready for the start of the new term.

“Working out of hours the team did a fantastic job,” said the head teacher, “ensuring the new kit was ready on time, and all without impacting on the routine of the school day.”

Taylor concluded that the performance of the Powerdome Pro domes had been a key factor in the success of this extension to the surveillance system.

“Covering such an unusual outside structure with ease, the additional cameras provide useful and evidential footage 24-hours a day.”