Why learn with technology?

To support excellence in learning, we use technology where appropriate to encourage deep and creative learning to help students prepare themselves for the rapidly changing world of work. The technologies we select are designed to accelerate students’ ability to communicate, create, collaborate, and develop critical thinking. Where applicable in learning, students are given access a Microsoft 365 account, Apple Creative apps, Adobe Creative Cloud account, Canva, SEQTA Learn and numerous other technologies.

Learning technology for the 2025 academic year:

Updated: Monday October 7, 2024.

The College has finalised the learning technology requirements for the 2025 academic year, to ensure parents have visibility and can make lease payments and purchase accordingly. In 2025 Students leverage an iPad in years 8-9 and a MacBook in years 7, 10, 11 & 12 as simple, flexible & reliable tools to support learning.

We take this opportunity to thank parents for their continued modelling of the appropriate use of devices to support learning.

Why the shift to school-leased MacBooks in year 7 and 10 from 2025?

It’s essential that learning at all year levels be assisted by devices at a consistent minimum standard to help ensure equity and capability for all students.

The College moved to a school-owned student device beginning in Year 7 in 2024 and will be repeating this leasing model each subsequent year until all year 7-12 students are using a school-owned device.

For Year 7 and 10 students in 2025:
  • Year 7 students’ devices are provided via an annual device levy and returned at the end of Year 9 in 2027
  • Year 10 students’ devices are provided via an annual device levy and then retained upon graduation from Year 12 in 2027

2025 student devices Year 7-9

Year 7Year 8Year 9
College provided MacBook AirSchool provided iPad BundleBYO iPad Bundle

2025 student devices Year 10-12

Year 10Year 11Year 12
College provided MacBook AirBYO MacBook Air or Pro 2022BYO MacBook Air or Pro 2021
Year 7 students 2025
School-supplied MacBook Air via an Annual Device Levy returned at the end of Year 9

All Year 7 students will be provided with a school-leased MacBook Air with 3 years of AppleCare. Families will be sent a link to complete payment of the Annual Device Levy of $560 per annum before January Friday 10. This payment is required prior to collection of the device (this is separate from the school fees statement).

Parents and caregivers are asked to ensure they have completed payment and the read the lease agreement before collection. Upon payment, Year 7 families will see a link to book a timeslot to pick up the MacBook Air on Thursday January 16 or Friday January 17 between 9 am and 3 pm from the IT Support office on Hay Street as per this Campus Map here

Year 7 FAQs:

Search your main family contact email for an email from accounts@mercedes.wa.edu.au and follow payment instructions

Search your main family contact email for an email from Consent2Go.  Here you can update your family profile information and acknowledge the “permission” for the Lease Agreement.

Parents can use the app also following these instructions:
Consent2Go App Parent access guide

The annual device cost includes:

  • MacBook Air M3 13.6″  8GB 256GB SSD Starlight
  • Comprehensive AppleCare+ warranty for 3 years

Tiers for device warranty, accidental damage, loss or theft are as follows:

Tier 0 – $0        Warranty claim – no service fee for a warrantable fault.

Tier 1 – $149    Screen or enclosure damage – AppleCare+ Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)
Tier 2 – $429   Accidental damage from handling – AppleCare+  Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)

Tier 3 – $600    Insurance Premium – a police report is required to access an insurance premium
Tier 4 – $1800  Full device replacement via invoice

All repairs are provided by the 3rd party Apple Repair Centre.  Full Apple Care T&Cs are listed here: https://www.apple.com/au/legal/sales-support/applecare/applecareplus/au/mac/

Year 7 students’ devices are leased via an annual device and then returned by the students at the end of Year 9 in 2027. The device is then wiped and removed from the college’s device management system.

New students in Years 8, 2025.
School-supplied iPad bundle via an Annual Device Levy returned at the end of Year 9

All Year 8 students will be provided with a school-leased iPad Air with 3 years of AppleCare. Families will be invoiced the Device Levy of $470 per annum in January, and payment is required prior to collection of the device (this will be separate from the school fees statement). 
An Apple Pencil USB-C needs to be purchased separately.

New Year 8 families can liase with  from the IT Support office for a collection time from Hay Street as per this Campus Map here. Parents and caregivers are asked to ensure they have completed payment (email from Accounts) and the lease agreement (in Consent2Go) before collection.

New students in Years 9, 2025.
BYO iPad bundle. 

For new Year 9 students in 2025 it is essential the iPad is brought to the College in January in an “out of the factory” condition to ensure it can be enrolled correctly onto the College’s network and for the mobile device management software to be installed. Parents can source these from a supplier of preference requesting education pricing or use Winthrop Australia discounted store below. The minimum specifications are:

  • Year 9 2025 – iPad 9 256Gb 2022, Logitech Rugged Combo 3 Touch Trackpad  Apple Pencil 1.0
Years 10 students 2025
School-supplied MacBook Air via an Annual Device Levy kept by students in Year 12

All Year 10 students will be provided with a school-leased MacBook Air with 3 years of AppleCare. Families will be sent a link to complete payment of the Annual Device Levy of $600 per annum before January Friday 10. This payment is required prior to collection of the device (this will be separate from the school fees statement).

Parents and caregivers are asked to ensure they have completed payment and the read the lease agreement before collection. Upon payment, Year 10 families will see a link to book a timeslot to pick up the MacBook Air on Thursday January 16 or Friday January 17 between 9 am and 3 pm from the IT Support office on Hay Street as per this Campus Map here

Year 10 FAQs: 

Search your main family contact email for an email from accounts@mercedes.wa.edu.au and follow payment instructions

Search your main family contact email for an email from Consent2Go.  Here you can update your family profile information and acknowledge the “permission” for the Lease Agreement.

Parents can use the app also following these instructions:
Consent2Go App Parent access guide

The annual device cost includes:

  • MacBook Air M3 13.6″  8GB 256GB SSD Midnight
  • Comprehensive AppleCare+ warranty for 3 years

Tiers for device warranty, accidental damage, loss or theft are as follows:

Tier 0 – $0        Warranty claim – no service fee for a warrantable fault.

Tier 1 – $149    Screen or enclosure damage – AppleCare+ Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)
Tier 2 – $429   Accidental damage from handling – AppleCare+  Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)

Tier 3 – $600    Insurance Premium – a police report is required to access an insurance premium
Tier 4 – $1800  Full device replacement via invoice

All repairs are provided by the 3rd party Apple Repair Centre.  Full Apple Care T&Cs are listed here: https://www.apple.com/au/legal/sales-support/applecare/applecareplus/au/mac/

Year 10 students’ devices are leased via an annual device and then retained by the students upon graduation from Year 12 in 2027. The device is wiped and removed from the college’s mobile device management system.

New students in Years 11 & 12, 2025.
BYO MacBook Air M1

New Year 11 and Year 12 students entering the college in 2025 will have the following minimum specifications for their devices:

  • Year 11 2025 – MacBook Air M1 2022
  • Year 12 2025 – MacBook Air M1 2022

MacBook Air M1 2023 is the minimum specification for 2024. A MacBook Air M2 or MacBook Pros are only recommended for students in Years 10,11 & 12 doing Media, Design and/or Applied Information Technology.

Parents can source these from a supplier of preference requesting education pricing. However, Winthrop Australia is the nominated 2024 discounted supplier via this online store.

FAQs

Tier 0 – $0        Warranty claim – no service fee for a warrantable fault.

Tier 1 – $149    Screen or enclosure damage – AppleCare+ Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)
Tier 2 – $429   Accidental damage from handling – AppleCare+  Accidental Damage from Handling (“ADH Service”)

Tier 3 – $600    Insurance Premium – a police report is required to access an insurance premium
Tier 4 – $800    Full device replacement via invoice

All repairs are provided by the 3rd party Apple Repair Centre.  Full Apple Care T&Cs are listed here: https://www.apple.com/au/legal/sales-support/applecare/applecareplus/au/mac/

This move to College leased devices allows us to monitor devices more effectively, and promotes optimal teaching and learning in terms of deployment of applications, imaging and responding to student user issues.

This model of student learning technology access also helps ensure consistency of learning opportunities for all students and secure management of software and services.

The device is one part of the whole package, which includes support, software, management, security, warranty, service agreement and swap outs during repairs to ensure minimal disruption to learning.

Students should only bring one device to school. Phones are to be kept in lockers during the school day, and only used with direct instruction by teachers as per the Student Digital Citizenship policy.

The Logitech Combo Touch with detachable keyboard case with trackpad is the most simple, flexible and reliable case we have identified. The versatility in learning to type, navigate, view, sketch and read has proven to support the learning we wish to see. It also keeps the the front, back, and corners of the iPad snug and protected and has a holder for the Apple Pencil.

This is in keeping with staff devices and the College device management and classroom infrastructure configuration and investment. Apple devices have proven to have battery reliability required for whole-day usage and robust hardware, and integrated high-quality cameras and stylus. These devices also have a simplicity of a familiar operating system while offering the complexity and opportunities of multiple enterprise-grade apps, such as Teams, in a secure enclave. In a multi-vendor world, the flexibility of the chosen devices allows for the cross-platform use of the full Microsoft 365 suite, Adobe apps and additional apps such as Canva and Education Perfect.  However, mixed device platforms create confusion and overheads for implementation, function, and management. In keeping costs to families manageable, the College can negotiate a competitive pricing structure with an Apple device.

In the experience of IT Support a glass screen protector is always a good investment.

New Students commencing at the College for the first time in Years 9, 11 and 12 during 2025 can purchase from the minimum required device specification listed above. A new Year 7, 8 or 10 student will be supplied a school-leased device.

To ensure consistency and equity in the learning environment plus the ability to complete tasks students in year 8-9 must have an iPad and in year 7, 10-12 must have a MacBook.

No, it is important that the students have the same device with the same software suite and the same security settings. The device is one part of the whole package, which includes support, software, management, security, warranty, service agreement and swap outs during repairs to ensure minimal disruption to learning.

The device has a life cycle of three years (Years 7 to 9 and Years 10 to 12). Allowing opt-in outside of these entry points would make the deployment and management of devices untenable. Additionally, teachers design learning experiences around these consistent devices to ensure the technology does not get in the way of the learning.  Therefore, we can’t provide opt-in as a choice outside of the Years 7 and 10 entry points.

The school is sourcing the best product at the best price with bulk buying power. The cost includes the whole package as indicated above.  Occasionally vendors have a two-day sale but these are rare and hard to predict.

Yes, a 256 GB hard drive is sufficient storage for nearly all students. Students doing Media courses may benefit from more local storage.

Students are also given guidance on how to access 1TB of OneDrive storage.  Year 7 and 10 students also get 256 GB iCloud storage with their Managed Apple ID.

Mercedes College will negotiate prices each year. Consequently, the price may vary between year groups.

For Year 8s in 2025, at the end of the lease, the condition of the iPad is checked ahead of return to the leasing provider before the last day of school in December at the end of Term 4.

For Year 7s in 2025, at the end of the lease, the condition of the MacBook is checked ahead of return to the leasing provider before the last day of school in December at the end of Term 4 in 2027.

For Year 7s in 2025, at the end of the lease, the device is wiped and removed from Mobile Device Management on the last day of year 12 in in 2027.

The College will require the school-owned device and all associated peripherals to be returned in an acceptable condition. Charges may apply if the device is damaged.

The device will connect to home networks, and students will be able to access online platforms at home (e.g., YouTube, Netflix, etc). However, they will not be able to install apps or change device settings. Students can request apps to be installed specific to their learning needs, justifying their critical thinking to their teachers via a form on the SEQTA Learn splash page.

No, Education Perfect is made available to students where required by teachers and the cost is covered via the IT Levy.

Students access eBook versions of the textbooks via the Campion app using licences purchased via the college booklist. These texts listed as a compulsory item include eBooks  allowing students to sign-in to interactive activities via their college SSO (Single Sign On).

Student device enquiries

For enquiries regarding device set-up or learning with technology services at Mercedes College, please contact the IT Support team directly with one of the following methods: