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The Web site is intended as a place to gather together pictures, memories and the history
of the schools that eventually became Harton Technology College - for present and former
pupils and staff. It is also as much an archiving project as a Web site.
I'm always looking for material, and if you have anything relating to the school (and
I mean absolutely anything) than I'd love to hear from
you. Even if it's already on the site it may be that the copy I have is not the
best quality (even though it may appear okay on the screen), and I do strive to have
the highest quality possible. If you want to know more, I've produced a more detailed
background to the site.
However, I'm also practical and know that there will be times when I need to accept
that it isn't always going to be possible. The bottom line is that I'd rather have something
than not have it.
The answer is ... just about anything at all to do with the school. Some ideas ..
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Form photos
School photos
Team photos
School trips
School productions
Sporting events
Pictures of the school, inside and out
Pictures of staff or students
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ATOMS
Speech Day programmes
Open Day/Evening programmes
Form magazines (such as the ONEO)
School rules
School Calendars
Staff lists
Newspaper cuttings
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Wartime at the school
Evacuation to Appleby
Teachers and fellow students
The school itself
Music at the school
Sporting occasions
Indiscretions (handled with propriety!)
School successes
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The preferred option is to post it to me (email me
for the address). I will always try to return material as quickly as possible (usually
within 24 hours of when it is received), and this way I can scan or photograph the material
to best suit the site and the archives. Of course, I accept that some people would rather
not part with such treasures and I'm happy to accept scans of photographs and documents.
In order to try to future-proof the site, and to allow me to print high-quality copies
of the originals, I try to keep as high-quality scans as possible (even though the copies
on the site are much lower quality). To achieve this I've drawn up some detailed guidelines
below. If you can follow them then it would be a great help, but if it's not possible
then don't let that stop you - I'll still be very grateful for your contribution.
However, if you send low resolution images, images of the whole of the scanner surface
with a small picture in the corner, images embeded in Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint
slideshows, pictures as photos taken by a digital camera, and so on, you are committing
me to what could be a lot of hard work for relatively low quality pictures ... if in
doubt, please ask.
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- Even if the photo is already on the site I may be interested in a higher quality
version - so still get in touch
- When you get in touch, it is useful if you give me some indication of how
you're planning to scan the photos
- Scan photos at the highest resolution you can - 300dpi is probably the minimum
for most photos, but small photos (smaller than about 3 inches across) may be
better scanned at 600dpi. I do all my scanning at 600dpi.
- If the photo is black and white, set your scanner software to black-and-white
- Try if you can to preserve shadow and highlight detail in the scan (I'd rather
have a low contrast photo which has the detail, than a crisp-looking photo where
faces are washed out and you can't see the folds in dark jackets)
- Please don't try to "crop" the picture - scan the whole photo (including
white borders) if you can
- Don't try to do any repairs or retouching. I'm well equipped to do that, and
retouching needs to take into account how a photo will be printed.
- Send high-quality.low-compression JPEG or TIFF files. Please (please!) don't
send BMP or GIF files, or photos embedded in other documents (such as word-processor,
PDF or Powerpoint files) as these are almost impossible to use
- Don't try to reduce the file size too much - file sizes of of 1-2 Mbyte are
probably ideal for form or team photos
- Size isn't too much problem as I have a broadband connection - but I'm aware
that not everybody has such speed available and so we may need to compromise
- If you're unsure of any of this, particularly if the photo is damaged, get
in touch with me and I'll see what I can do to help
- If the photo is damaged in any way I will do what I can to retouch/repair
it (not the original, of course!) and I should be able to send you a copy if
you wish (although I may have to ask for a contribution to the costs involved)
- If you can, include names of boys or staff and any other background to the
pictures
- And always remember that I'm happy to do the scanning myself - I will usually
scan and post the photos back on the day that I receive them
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- Even if the edition you have is already on the site, it may have been produced
from a poor quality original and I'd be interested in a higher quality version
- Check with me first to ensure that you're not going to spend time on preparing
something I already have but haven't yet uploaded
- In order to print a "replica" copy for the school, the copying needs
are rather demanding - to get the necessary level of quality, scanning will
generate far too much data to email (but it could go on a CDROM I suppose)
- Mailing me the ATOM is by far the best way - I will scan and return them as
quickly as possible (that usually takes a bit longer than scanning photos)
- If you feel you'd rather send me a photocopy then it's unlikely that I'll
be able to print a replica, and the photos inside will not come out very well.
However, it should still be possible to include it on the site
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- Check with me first to ensure that you're not going to spend time on preparing
something I already have but haven't yet uploaded
- Good quality photocopies are usually okay
- Scans are usually okay too - aim for a minimum of 75dpi, and ideally 150dpi
(particularly if there are photos)
- When copying or scanning, a black card behind the page may markedly improve
the quality
- If the document(s) are particularly awkward, get in touch with me an I'll
see if I can help
- Always remember that I'm happy to do the copying myself
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- It's very definitely worth getting in touch to work out how best to handle
anything unusual
- If you are able to find a suitable "model" to wear items of clothing,
then take a photo and send me that (let me know if you don't want them to be
identifiable - it's not a problem).
- If you want to donate the item to the school's archives, then let me know
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Since May 2002:
Total hits on site: 10 million (average 6,000 a day)
Total number of individual visits: 480,000
Total data transferred: 50 Gigabytes (average 30 Megabytes a day)
Approx number of files on the site: 4800
Approx size of site: 92 Mbytes
Number of Old Boys & teachers who have made contact: 400
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Designed, run and paid for by Mike Todd
Designed for a screen of 800x600 or greater, with at least 16-bit colour
It should work on smaller screens, but less conveniently
Software is Dreamweaver 4 and a lot of hand-coding
School photo and ATOM pages are generated using custom-written software
The site code has been validated using W3C tools
Regretably, it is not possible to make the site fully compliant with accessibility
guidelines. The additional work required would simply mean that there would be
no site here.
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www.ssgtsfb.info
first online (using UK2.NET): December 2001
www.boyshighschool.co.uk first online (using UK2.NET): December 2002
Site redesigned, and new structure: December 2002
Moved to new provider (using ICUKNET): September 2003
Introduced www.hartonschool.co.uk as a third address for the site: May 2005
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