Tiffin Chromebooks

It's been 8 years since we successfully introduced Chromebooks to our students.  This has taken teaching and learning to a whole new level.  Our students’ daily lives are filled with technology and they are quick to embrace new developments.  The use of Chromebooks is one way in which we are able to ensure students are equipped for this ever-changing climate.   We believe using Chromebooks enables our pupils to become well-informed, responsible digital citizens and lifelong learners. 

A Chromebook is similar to a laptop or tablet and just as capable. However, instead of running a Windows (or other) operating system, they are powered by a Google Chrome operating system. Programs that would normally be stored on the computer’s hard drive are accessed via the internet using the cloud. When working offline these programs can be downloaded and stored locally. Because the Chromebooks access programs using the cloud, this reduces the need for large amounts of RAM and hard drive space.  

We chose Chromebooks for their functionality, versatility, robustness and cost.  You can find out more about how they are used at Tiffin below and throughout this Google site. 

If you cannot find the information you are looking for on this site and in the FAQs at the top of the page, please direct any queries about Chromebooks to Mrs O'Connell: choconnell@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk 

Letter to Parents - June 2025

Purchase of Chromebooks Through Tiffin School

Dear Parents/Guardians

We are very much looking forward to welcoming your son into the Tiffin Community at the beginning of September. The purpose of this letter is to give you details of the Tiffin Starter Pack that all boys will need when they start school in September.

One of the first things we will do in September is to issue all boys in Year 7 with a new Chromebook, which your son will use every day in lessons and at home. Your son will take his Chromebook home every afternoon and is expected to look after it and to bring it to school fully charged each day. The same Chromebook is used from Year 7 through to Year 11 and beyond.

This initiative has been incredibly successful since its introduction in 2018, no more so than during the pandemic when we were able to provide students with first-rate, interactive learning opportunities, facilitating ongoing academic progress and enabling students and staff to remain connected. More information about the devices and their use can be found on the dedicated Tiffin Chromebooks website.

We are able to supply the ASUS Chromebook CR1100FKA Flip with a three-year warranty, a Chrome Management Licence and full set up for a cost of £275. We are confident this represents excellent value for money and that this model would be significantly more expensive if purchased from any other supplier.

In order to protect your son's device, we recommend a case. Cases and covers for Chromebooks are available on Amazon and other sellers at various price points. They provide good protection in transit against scratches and accidental damage and may prevent a broken screen. For example, a replacement screen currently costs £96.

We are strongly encouraging all students to purchase the ASUS Chromebook CR1100FKA Flip provided directly by the school so that we can use, support and manage all Chromebooks uniformly. In lessons, this means that every student will have the same functionality which facilitates teachers using the Chromebook for teaching and learning. However, if your son already has a Chromebook he particularly wishes to use in place of the standard Tiffin model, please contact me directly. Other laptop models (i.e. non Chromebook) are not allowed. If the model of your Chromebook is suitable, a separate payment of £28 will be required for the Chrome Management Licence which will connect their Chromebook to the school’s network. This licence will restrict the permissions on the device making the permissions identical to the ASUS Chromebook CR1100FKA Flip. Please note: if you decide to use your own device, it must not have reached its ‘auto expiration date’ as during the process of adding the GoGuardian software the device will be returned to its factory settings, in other words ‘wiped’.

In addition to Chromebooks, the Year 7 Tiffin Starter Pack also includes allocation of an individual locker (£20) for your son to store his personal belongings between Years 7 and 11, a Tiffin school house tie (£7) to welcome him to his house at Tiffin and a sturdy mini whiteboard and whiteboard pen (£2) to use in lessons.

The total cost for the Tiffin Starter Pack including the Chromebook, management licence, set up, individual locker, house tie and mini whiteboard set is £304.

Students who qualify for Pupil Premium / Service Child funding will receive their Chromebook free of charge. For these students, the first repair is free and future repairs are charged at 50% of the regular price. The remaining items in the starter pack will also be provided free of charge. Please note however that replacements of all these items are chargeable. We will be in touch with parents who qualify for this.

Payment practicalities:

We are in the process of setting up ParentPay, our online payments platform, to facilitate payment for the Tiffin Starter Pack and parents should make the payment by Friday 5th July to allow us to source all items before the start of term. You will receive a separate email with login details for ParentPay, www.parentpay.com in the next couple of days. ParentPay is also used for you to top up your son's school lunch money account.

We encourage all parents who are able to pay the full £304 and to do so by Friday 5th July. You will see this as two payments of £275 and £29.

If the full payment causes any concern please pay a first instalment of £100.00 by Friday 5th July. Subsequent instalments should be made by Friday 2nd August (£100.00) and Friday 6th September (£75.00 + £29.00). We request you to please put in personal reminders for these payments so we do not have to chase you.

If you have any further questions about logging in to ParentPay please, in the first instance, go to the ParentPay Parent Support webpage Managing your account. If you still require assistance with logging into ParentPay or making a payment having read through the Parent Support webpage, please contact IT Support: itsupport@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk.

If you have any questions or concerns about Chromebooks or the Tiffin Starter Pack, including financial concerns, please do get in touch with me by email at choconnell@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk.

Kind Regards

Mrs C O'Connell

Deputy Head (Education)