South Ayrshire Council is taking learning to another level following the installation of an improved wide area network (WAN) in schools across the area.

All pupils can now benefit from accessing online learning experiences thanks to the network, which has increased bandwidth by an impressive 50 fold.

With reliable fibre connectivity now in place, children can access online features such as virtual reality without connection problems.

Rural areas in particular have seen a great impact following the upgrade, and Ballantrae Primary is the latest school to undergo this innovative work.

Pupils at the school are already noticing big differences and praising the new technology available.

Erin, who is in Primary 6, said: “When we used to play maths games online it used to crash halfway through – now it does not crash at all!”

Ruby, who is also in Primary 6, said: “We have been working on documents, quizzes and sharing information, so we can interact better with each other.”

William, who is in the same class, added: “The old internet was reasonable, but it is much better now for learning. You don’t spend most of your time waiting for things to load.”

Head Teacher at Ballantrae Primary School, Yvonne Templeton, said: “Children and staff, have fully benefited from the recent WAN upgrades. We can now access a range of technologies and systems – we are now fully connected in the digital age.”

It is not only schools that are set to benefit from the new network.

To date, over 130 council locations have been upgraded to allow faster access to internet based resources.

Libraries, sports centres and a range of other council premises are now benefiting from improved connectivity in line with the Digital First policy.

Contractor MLL Telecoms, who are installing the WAN on behalf of the council, have made contributions to local causes through the Community Benefit Scheme.

Councillor Peter Henderson, Resources and Performance Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council, said: “We are continually improving our infrastructure to ensure that pupils have the best learning experience possible. Technology plays an increasingly important role in education so we need to ensure that children particularly in rural locations don’t miss out.

“Our investment in WAN also means information is more readily available which is great for our customers, another advantage is our rollout of public access Wi-Fi which is now running in 20 of our facilities.”

You can find out more about the Community Benefit Scheme by visiting: www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/procurement/community-groups.aspx