Case Study: St Bede’s College achieves reliable 1:1 learning and campus‑wide safety with Riverbed Xirrus Wi‑Fi

Australian School Supports Innovative Learning Programs, 1:1 Computing, and STEM with Xirrus Wi-Fi Network

St Bede’s College, a Catholic boys’ secondary school in Melbourne with about 1,550 students, needed fast, reliable Wi‑Fi to support a move to student‑led learning and 1:1 computing (notebooks for years 10–12 and iPads for years 7–9). Existing wireless solutions couldn’t handle the high‑density environment of multiple devices per student and simultaneous classroom use.

The college deployed Xirrus multi‑radio access points (each acting as its own controller) and Xirrus Management System to deliver campus‑wide, high‑performance Wi‑Fi that’s easy to manage and upgrade. The network reliably supports video streaming, Google Apps, STEM projects and even a live NASA video call, enables remote viewing of 40+ surveillance cameras from mobile devices, simplifies device tracking and application prioritization, and provides a future‑proof upgrade path to 802.11ac Wave 2 without CAPEX.

St Bede‘s College

David Cracknell

Deputy Principal for ICT and Infrastructure