Bring your own device (BYOD)

The NSW Department of Education have recently announced that at some point in the next financial year (1/7/2026 - 30/6/2027) students will be provided with a laptop for use at school. Therefore, if your child has a device that meets the specifications below, we advise that you do not replace the device at this time. The school is still waiting for further details on this roll out.

In the interim, all students at St Ives High School will continue to participate in our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Program. All students are required to bring a personally owned device to school for the purpose of learning.

Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Adobe Express are available at no cost to Department of Education students on one device for either Apple or Microsoft platforms. This should be factored in when choosing a device as it is often a sales incentive. Warranty and reliability should be the overriding concern.

We recommend a device that meets the following specifications:

Operating System

• Microsoft Windows 11

• Apple MacOS X 15 (Sequoia) or newer

• Apple iOS 18 or newer

Note: Android-based devices are intentionally omitted as they are not a preferred solution.

Wireless Compatibility

This is the most important specification as there will be no internet access if your device does not comply

Device MUST have 5GHz- 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac to connect (Must have 'ac' to connect to school network). Devices with 802.11 b/g/n or 802.11 n will not connect.
Battery Life
Advertised battery life of at least six (6) hours. (There are minimal facilities to charge laptops in classrooms).
Recommendations
  • Maximum weight: 2kg
  • Minimum RAM (laptops): 16GB
  • Disk configuration (laptops): Solid State disk (SSD-256GB or above)
  • Protective cover/sleeve
Considerations
Accidental loss and breakage insurance Anti-Virus Protection
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We are not recommending Google Chromebooks as they are too limited in terms of software they can run. Other devices such as iPads can be used but are not our preferred solution. If they are used, they will need an external keyboard.

We acknowledge that many students may have a device they have been using in Year 6, such as a tablet. While these are not recommended devices, we will support their use until the device needs to be replaced.

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