News & Events

Storth School B4RN Officially Switched On By MP

July 3rd, 2022
Author: Mark Gray
Posted In: Latest news

South Lakes MP Tim Farron ready to push the B4RN plunger. (Note: this is not really how the internet works.)

Storth CE Primary School had its B4RN gigabit broadband officially ‘switched on’ by MP Tim Farron.

Local volunteers, who were vital to getting the site connected, were there alongside B4RN staff.

The rain held off for the outdoor occasion on Friday (1st July). The school provided cake and hot drinks with pupils from class three treating everybody with their singing.

Then under the fanfare of bio-degradable confetti cannon, Mr. Farron pushed a B4RN plunger to officially switch on the school’s broadband!

Greg Tagney – who chairs the local B4RN volunteer group – addressed the children: “This is a free service for the community.

“None of this would be possible without our volunteers. We’ve dug many, many kilometres of trenches around the village and connected many villagers. We’re really glad to have got it here at last. Hopefully you’ll enjoy many days of using the hyperfast, wonderful connection.”

Pupils from Class 3 treated those present to a song.

B4RN CEO Michael Lee added: “At B4RN we talk a lot about communities connected. Sometimes people think that just means to the internet. For me, it means a bit more than that. We’re talking about the people in those communities connecting with each other.  The B4RN network only exists because people have come together to work to make their community better. We’re thankful people give up their precious time to make this happen. Absolutely fantastic.”

South Lakes MP Tim Farron also spoke to pupils: “It’s a really important thing to celebrate because not everybody has this. Definitely not everybody has it the way you got it- provided by the community, a team effort. We appreciate it a bit more if we know that local people literally rolled their sleeves up and dug the trenches so that you can watch the telly, do teams, do research, and people who need healthcare can get it over the internet.”

The school – like all small primaries on the B4RN network – receives FREE symmetrical gigabit full fibre broadband.

Friday’s celebration also marked the achievement of the local volunteer group in connecting three other Storth community assets: the old Village Hall; the village Church; and Heron Hall.

Pictured below: Representatives from the local volunteer group, B4RN, and the church joined South Lakes MP Tim Farron and school pupils for the occasion.