Once again Education MarketPlace focuses on current issues in education and aims to give you a flavour of the two leading exhibitions for this market. Case studies highlight teachers' experiences today and how they cope with the rapidly changing nature of their industry.

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The prize is right

Shaw House School in Bradford won £3,000 of equipment as winner of The Education Show 2000 free prize draw secondary school category, sponsored by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA). Principal Robert Williams attended the Show along with the school bursar and is hoping to bring his entire staff next year. “It was the first time we visited,' says Williams, “It was good to see all the publishers together, see books and chat to suppliers. We were able to look at current and new art materials. It was fascinating and well laid out, and we could see the latest software and so on demonstrated and explained, rather than sold.”

The reason Williams visited the Show is that his school, a 60 year old independent co-educational secondary school, was opening a new sixth form and wanted to see what was available for IT, labs, and art. “We wanted to see new and forthcoming ideas,' he says, “The show has the ability to stimulate ideas usefully for secondary as well as primary schools.”

Williams is now convinced that all heads of departments should go to the Show in the future because it enables staff to see what's new, compare prices and see it all under one roof.

He also values the experience of being able to talk to suppliers, he says, “You can't talk to a brochure, this gives you focus.'

Williams' school won a range of prizes from furniture to stationery, educational videos and teaching aids. “We were very satisfied because we received a range of goods which could be used across a wide range of departments,' he says, “Basically many were samples of products such as a video on resisting peer pressure that encourages self-esteem in teenagers. We may buy another one, as winning the prize has introduced a product to our school that we would otherwise not know about.'

Other case studies can be found in Education MarketPlace and will be posted here soon.

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