Following a central government initiative to improve the performance of children in schools in challenging circumstance, the ATHENA Small Education Action Zone was formed in 2001. Comprising 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school, the Action Zone had the remit to use innovative applications of IT, detailed pupil performance data, and model teaching in Literacy and Numeracy to improve pupil outcomes. Over the 10 years of the Zones activities, ATHENA developed an international reputation for the innovative use of Video Conference technology in the classroom and distinguished itself with the development of Tools for Teachers, Deep Thinking Skills programmes, Support for Newly arrived pupils and digital content for schools. ATHENA schools improved beyond expectations becoming confident, collaborative, innovative spaces where children's performance moved from well below national averages at the begining of the Zone's life, to way above national averages before the zone's close in 2011.