Homewood School

Homewood opened as a local secondary school quite soon after World War II. During the baby boom of the 1960s, the Government funded further building works at the School and developed the School Farm, which established a good reputation for itself at the Kent County Show. In the 70s, Mr Matthews' vision brought comprehensive status to Homewood, and the first Learning Resource Centre in Kent was built. In 1991, the School Governors decided to take the opportunity provided by Grant Maintained Status to further improve school facilities, and to take greater control over the direction of the School.

Today, to quote their website 'Homewood is at the forefront of the twenty first century personalised learning agenda with an accelerated timetable at both key stages and opportunities for a curriculum, enabling students to sit examinations when they are ready to take them rather than by a fixed age.'

In 2006, after investigating local energy experts, Mike Macey of Homewood was referred to Utilitas Solutions by the Kent Chamber of Commerce. Mike was interested to see what improvements if any could be made by using Utilitas over and above the School's current broker. At the time, moderate savings were achieved in gas, but in 2009, when the existing contracts came to an end, more substantial savings were achieved with a forecast of £6,000pa on the main gas meter. With the electricity service, Utilitas achieved a 47% saving at a small non-half-hourly meter, but at the more significant half-hourly meter, savings of £5,500 were gained.

Utilitas have continued to audit the school’s energy expenditure and ensure their billing is accurate and after working together for 6 years savings of nearly £30,000 have been achieved.