Recommended IT Equipment
The MuseScore music scoring software is available as a FREE download from https://musescore.org/en by clicking the “Free Download” button. Please find below details of our recommendations for IT equipment you will need when studying at Long Road Sixth Form College. You can find a downloadable PDF copy at the bottom of this page.
If you have any additional questions not covered by these recommendations, please contact IT Support.
Please Note: Long Road Sixth Form College does not endorse any of the below-mentioned retailers or products, or provide support for the products. The information is provided simply as an example of what to look for when purchasing. Prices were correct at the time of writing but may change over time. Retailers may periodically change their website links, so please check specifications before purchase.
Mobile phone
A personally-owned mobile phone is required in order to study at Long Road. Your phone will be used as the second factor when setting up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on your Long Road account, and the college may look to deliver more services through mobile apps in future. The minimum requirement is for a mobile phone that can receive SMS text messages, but we strongly recommend a smartphone.
Example: The Nokia C32 is an inexpensive Android smartphone available SIM-free from Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-Smartphone-cameras-Battery-Toughened-Green/dp/B0CM3YXCZD/ for £79.99.
Webcams
If you already have a computer, but it does not have a built-in webcam, you can purchase a webcam that plugs in to your computer via the USB port. Most USB webcams also contain a built-in microphone, so you won’t need to buy a microphone as well.
When picking out a webcam, the main specification to check is the resolution. This might be expressed in different ways; for example, an image width and height in pixels, or a number followed by the letter “p” that represents the image height in pixels. You should look for a camera that is at least 720p (1280x720 pixels) or better.
Example: The Logitech C270 webcam is a 720p webcam available from Argos at https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4034924 for £19.99.
Laptops
If you don’t already have a computer, or you have an older computer, we suggest buying a newer laptop as it will have a built-in webcam and microphone for remote learning on Microsoft Teams.
Your choice of laptop may need to be tailored towards the types of courses you are on; students who are on Art, Computing, D&T, Film, Graphic Design, Media or Photography courses will need to look at higher performance machines which will be more expensive.
You should avoid Google Chromebooks and the new “Windows on ARM” laptops and tablets, as these may prevent you from taking advantage of the full range of FREE software available to you while studying at Long Road.
For the majority of courses, consider a laptop with these specifications (or better):
- Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3
- Memory: 8 gigabytes (GB)
- Storage: 256 gigabytes (GB) solid-state drive (SSD)
- Built-in webcam and microphone
- Operating system: Windows 11
Example: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 FE from Currys at https://www.currys.co.uk/products/samsung-galaxy-book4-fe-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i3-256-gb-ssd-grey-10263967.html for £374.00.
For Art, Computing, D&T, Film, Graphic Design, Media or Photography courses, consider a laptop with these specifications (or better):
- Processor: Intel Core i5 12th generation or better, AMD Ryzen 5 7000-series or better
- Memory: 16 gigabytes (GB)
- Storage: 1 terabyte (TB) solid-state drive (SSD)
- Built-in webcam and microphone
- Operating system: Windows 11
Example: The ACER Aspire 5 from Currys at https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-aspire-5-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-1-tb-ssd-grey-10250846.html for £649.00.
Software
Other than Microsoft Windows, which should be included with the laptop, you should not need to purchase any additional software as most software needed for courses is either available FREE or is provided by the college for you, for FREE, while you are a student at Long Road.
Please Note: if you have a Chromebook then you will not be able to take advantage of the full range of software listed here.
For all students:
Microsoft Office 365 (which includes Microsoft Teams) is available to download and install FREE by logging in to www.office.com with your college email address and password and clicking the “Install Office” button. Once the software is installed, you can log in to it using your college email address and password.
You will need antivirus software installed on your new laptop. The included Windows Defender software provides some basic protection, but the college uses Sophos antivirus and Sophos produces a Home edition of their software which is available on a free trial at https://home.sophos.com/en-us.aspx by clicking the “Free Trial” button. A paid subscription allows your family to protect up to 10 devices.
For students on Art, Computing, D&T, Film, Graphic Design, Media or Photography courses:
You can access files stored on your college U: drive by installing the Foldr app, which is available FREE at https://foldr.io/products/foldr-for-files/microsoft-windows - the server name you will need to use with this app is foldr.longroad.ac.uk and you log in using your college username and password.
Adobe Creative Cloud is available to download and install FREE for students on these courses, by logging in to https://creativecloud.adobe.com, choosing a “Company or School Account” and logging in with your college email address and password. You can then download and install the Creative Cloud App which will allow you to install Adobe software, including Photoshop, Illustrator or Premiere Pro.
For students on Computing or Media courses:
Visual Studio 2022 is available in a FREE “Community” edition which you can download and install from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/ by clicking the “Free download” button. As part of the Visual Studio installation, you can also choose to install other tools you may need - such as Python or the Unity3D game development tools - at the same time as installing Visual Studio.
For students on Computing courses:
Visual Studio Code is available as a FREE download from https://code.visualstudio.com/ by clicking the “Download for Windows” button.
For students on D&T courses:
A student home edition of Techsoft Design V3 is available upon request from IT Support. Students on D&T courses should email itsupport@longroad.ac.uk from their college email account, and we can then provide the download details and activation key needed.
For students on D&T and Media courses:
Autodesk software products such as AutoCAD, Maya, and Mudbox are available on a FREE 1-year licence from Autodesk’s Education site at https://www.autodesk.com/education/edu-software/overview?sorting=featured&page=1. You can renew the licence each year providing you are still a student at that time.
For students on Maths courses:
The Autograph 5 maths software is available as a FREE download from https://completemaths.com/autograph by clicking the “Download For Free” button.
For students on Languages & Media courses:
The Audacity audio software is available as a FREE download from https://www.audacityteam.org/ by clicking the “Download Audacity” button.
For students on Music courses:
The MuseScore music scoring software is available as a FREE download from https://musescore.org/en by clicking the “Free Download” button.
For students on Chemistry courses:
The ACD/ChemSketch software is available as a FREE download from https://www.acdlabs.com/resources/freeware/chemsketch/ by clicking the “Download Free Version” button.