School Phone System: How Bredon Hill Academy Cut Telecoms Costs by 30%+

About Bredon Hill Academy

Bredon Hill Academy is a middle school for around 470 pupils aged 10 to 13 (Years 6 to 8), based in Ashton-under-Hill near Evesham, Worcestershire. It is part of the Worcestershire Hills Trust.

With prices rising from its existing phone supplier, the academy wanted to reduce telecoms costs without compromising on functionality. It chose a Yeastar cloud phone system from The VoIP Shop, while retaining its existing Yealink handsets and main phone number. The result was a 30%+ reduction in telecoms costs, with pricing fixed for the full contract.

The challenge: rising costs and uncertain value

Bredon Hill Academy had become increasingly frustrated with its existing telecoms supplier. Prices were continuing to rise, making it difficult for the academy to predict its future costs or assess whether it was getting substantial value. The academy faced a number of challenges, including:

The academy needed a replacement phone system that could meet its existing features and technical requirements while delivering better value. Just as importantly, it wanted to avoid unnecessary expenditure on new handsets when its existing Yealink phones were still fit for purpose.

The priority was therefore straightforward: reduce costs, retain functionality, and create greater certainty over future telecoms spend.

Why Bredon Hill Academy chose The VoIP Shop

The VoIP Shop first established the academy’s existing requirements before designing a solution around them.

The proposal provided:

The academy was also given a live demonstration of the Yeastar platform. This allowed IT Manager Dan Rimell and his colleagues to assess the system in practice and understand how it would work for staff.

The demonstration gave the academy confidence in the proposed solution, and three days later, it decided to proceed.

The solution

The VoIP Shop moved Bredon Hill Academy to a Yeastar hosted cloud phone system configured around its requirements.

Yeastar Hosted Cloud Phone System

The new service brings the academy’s telecoms requirements together under a single pricing structure, with costs fixed for the duration of the contract.

Staff now use a modern cloud-based platform that provides a straightforward and intuitive experience, while the academy retains all of the functionality and technical specifications it required.

Existing Handset Reuse

A key part of the solution was the ability to reuse the academy’s forty-four existing Yealink handsets.

Rather than replacing working hardware, the handsets were reconfigured for the new system. This reduced the upfront investment and allowed the academy to continue using equipment staff were already familiar with.

Number Porting

The academy’s main phone number was also transferred to the new system, meaning parents, suppliers and other callers could continue using the same number.

The results

Bredon Hill Academy achieved a 30%+ reduction in telecoms costs while retaining the functionality it required. The project delivered:

Explore the Solutions Behind This Project

Bredon Hill Academy cut its telecoms costs by more than 30% with a Yeastar cloud phone system. Here is what makes it work for schools.