The trial concluded successfully in April 2010 and demonstrated that satellite delivered high-speed broadband provides a realistic option for remote rural schools to be connected to the Internet.
Andrena Norrish, Principal of Winchester Rural School explained the benefits of the trial for the children:
“Having a high-speed broadband connection has made a huge difference to what our pupils are able to do, see and learn. Rural kids are disadvantaged and delayed in the types of educational experiences that urban schools and communities have easily accessed. Having the Farmside high-speed broadband access has literally transformed classroom programmes and greatly enhanced children’s motivation and learning.”
Ms Norrish is convinced that rural kids are disadvantaged and delayed in the types of educational experiences they can access and she feels the gap between urban and rural equality in education grows day by day.
Both schools have now reverted back to their original slower speed internet connections while they await the outcomes of the goverment’s Rural Broadband Initiative. 
