ONE of Haringey's most improved secondary schools has said its use of cutting-edge technology has improved results through better interaction in lessons — and helps it keep up with its IT-savvy pupils.

Mathematics and computing sepcialist school Gladesmore Community, in Crowland Road, Tottenham, is among the first schools in the country to embrace the use interactive white boards, or Smart Boards, combined with pop-up screens on pupils' desks in its classrooms to make learning an exciting two-way street, its supporters say.

The interactive boards allows teachers' notes and diagrams, made with normal board markers, to be saved as digital images which can later be printed as revision notes or catch-up notes if a pupil misses a class.

It can also be used to display the internet and play videos or sound clips as teachers explain new topics.

Headteacher Tony Hartney CBE, said that as an ICT specialist school it was vital that Gladesmore kept up with developments and had proved a hit in classrooms from pupils and teachers.

He said: "You only need to look at a class to immediately see how engaged they are. Pupil attendance has been great. The pupils love being in the classroom.

"Learning about Henry VIII from words and picture in a book can be a bit boring, but to have sound and video clips can really bring a lesson to life."

Gladesmore is one of just eleven "showcase schools" in the UK where the technology is being used to maximum effect.

Over the past nine years — under Mr Hartney's direction — GCSE results the school, rated "outstanding" in all areas by Ofsted last year, has seen a remarkable year-on-year improvement leaping from 12 per cent of pupils achieving A* to C grades in 1999, to 80 per cent in 2009.

When maths and English are taken into account, this figure has jumped from 4 per cent to 50 per cent.

The school has heavily invested in ICT and its aims is to continue to upgarde facilities so that each faculty will have a dedicated IT suite.

The school also runs IT courses for primary schools across the borough to help sharpen their IT skills in its City Learning Centre.

"The knowledge that young people have in terms of IT is remarkable. In some cases, there are pupils who are more advanced than the teachers. We have to be able to keep up with them.

"Each week we offer teachers refresher lessons in IT or a teacher that excels in one particular field can share their experience with others. We also have the "Mouse Squad" — a group of pupils exceptional in IT, who monitor the staff's use of ICT and suggests ways we can be better."

Another factor in the schools success has been its graduate training programme and its Newly Qualified Teachers earning it recognition as a Future Leaders training school.

Mr Hartney said that to deal with challenges in education in Haringey, such as language barriers and deprivation, employing and training teachers from a range of cultural backgrounds who have a real interest in the pupils is essential.

As a result, achievement among pupils with special educational needs and pupils from black and other ethnic minority groups is outstanding when comapred with other schools.