Concord College, a long-standing client of Commercial, is one of the latest schools to join forces with the Managed IT division to support IT Schools Africa. It is donating old IT equipment as part of the Managed IT with a Conscience programme. This means that the college’s old laptops, computers, tablets and monitors are securely cleaned to comply with GDPR by Commercial Managed IT, and then sent by IT Schools Africa to schools in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This enables lives to be transformed as a result of quality education through access to e-learning.

“As we refresh PCs and decommission classrooms, we build up a stock of old or unwanted equipment. Naturally, we repurpose what we can internally and then, eventually, dispose of the rest,” says Ian Stockbridge, Concord’s IT Manager. “As a department, we have always wanted to do something good with this, but due to issues such as data protection constraints on ‘donating’ equipment, it hasn’t always been that simple. We are now able to legally dispose of old IT equipment through specialist recycling companies such as Commercial.”

The Managed IT with a Conscience programme introduces schools to the concept of sustainable development, and Concord says it hopes to mirror this by highlighting how recycling old equipment can help those less fortunate.

“We have been working with Commercial Managed IT for a number of years, and they provide us with invaluable support by encouraging their customers to donate their old IT equipment,”adds Simon Richardson, UK Operations Manager, IT Schools Africa.
“Sustainability, traceability and reuse of IT equipment is core to what they do. Equally, by encouraging more schools and businesses to donate their old IT equipment , we are able to transform IT education in Africa , which we greatly appreciate.”

Concord College joins other key independent schools including Wellington School, Sidcot School and Sherborne Girls, which also donate their old IT equipment to IT Schools Africa via Commercial Managed IT.