Project Overview
Situation
Shrewsbury School were looking to redefine their infrastructure with a new firewall to improve cyber defences; later they faced a cyber incident requiring immediate response.
Solution
ITHealth’s expert firewall deployment, rapid cyber response, strong Sophos partnership and deep expertise enabled recovery within hours – minimising impact and ensuring lasting protection.
Shrewsbury School is a leading independent co educational boarding school with a strong academic heritage and modern digital infrastructure. Supporting a community of around 840 pupils and 450 staff, the school’s IT team ensures the performance, security, and availability of more than 3,000 networked devices – including around 1,100 managed endpoints. To remain resilient in today’s complex cyber landscape, the school values trusted partnerships that provide expert support and enterprise-grade solutions.
The Situation
In late 2023, Shrewsbury School began a strategic review of its IT infrastructure and security defences. Recognising the rising cyber threats facing the education sector, the school prioritised upgrading its firewall. Sophos was chosen as the preferred solution based on industry reputation and prior success with the platform.
The Head of IT Operations at Shrewsbury School recommended working with ITHealth, having had a positive experience with them in a previous NHS role. ITHealth’s Professional Services team was brought in to lead the deployment and configuration of the new Sophos firewall. ITHealth Consultant James Brunt worked closely with the school’s IT team to ensure best-practice implementation, including full use of the firewall’s advanced features and seamless integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE).
The investment proved timely. In early 2024, Shrewsbury School was hit by a cyber incident. Alerts from Sophos Central and Microsoft 365 triggered an immediate response. Thanks to the proactive preparation and strong partnership already in place with ITHealth, the school was ready to act – and act fast.
“ITHealth’s reputation preceded them – and from the outset, the professionalism and depth of support were clear. ITHealth’s help getting our Sophos firewall installed and optimised was second to none.”
Glyn Ferriday
Director of Marketing, IT & Communications
Shrewsbury School
The Solution
Upon identifying unusual activity on the network – flagged by Sophos Central and Microsoft 365 – the Shrewsbury School IT team acted swiftly and reached out to ITHealth. Within minutes, ITHealth Consultant James Brunt was on the phone supporting Shrewsbury School’s Head of IT Operations and the team through critical containment and mitigation steps. Working late into the night, James provided not only hands-on technical support but also acted as a trusted advisor, helping the school navigate the situation with clarity and confidence. Their combined efforts meant the school was fully operational again by 9AM the following morning – less than 15 hours after the initial alert.
A key factor in the school’s rapid recovery was ITHealth’s established partnership with Sophos. As a high-level Sophos partner, ITHealth had direct access to Sophos’ 3rd line technical support – bypassing standard SLAs and enabling faster escalation. This proved invaluable, both in accelerating the initial response and in securing Sophos’ Rapid Response
service shortly after.
Further strategic support came from ITHealth’s Head of Commercial Business and Strategy, Chris Booth, who intervened to ensure the school received the appropriate level of post-incident support and product recommendations. Acting as both technical and commercial advisors, the ITHealth team helped the school regain control of the situation, restore confidence, and transition smoothly to a stronger, more secure footing.
“The ITHealth team were instrumental in helping us respond effectively to the incident. James supported us through the night and helped restore operations by the next morning – his technical input and calm, expert guidance was exceptional.”
Glyn Ferriday
Director of Marketing, IT & Communications
Shrewsbury School
Results and Next Steps
The support provided by ITHealth ensured Shrewsbury School not only recovered quickly from a serious cyber incident but also emerged with a significantly strengthened cyber defence strategy. Their Sophos firewall was optimised to an exemplary level – confirmed by a recent Sophos health check – and the subsequent adoption of Sophos MDR and NDR services has enhanced their threat visibility and response capabilities.
A key benefit was ITHealth’s ability to engage Sophos at the highest levels of technical support – a result of their established partnership and deep product expertise. This not only accelerated time to resolution during the incident, but also ensured Shrewsbury received the right level of post-incident protection.
More than just technical support, ITHealth offered clarity, direction, and real partnership throughout the entire journey. The school now benefits from a long-term relationship with ITHealth that enables informed, confident decisions about its infrastructure and resilience – both now and into the future.
“In a world of escalating cyber threats and overwhelming information, ITHealth helped us cut through complexity and move forward with haste and clarity. For schools without vast IT teams, having this level of real-world support is an absolute godsend.”
Glyn Ferriday
Director of Marketing, IT & Communications
Shrewsbury School
