A Newport-based ICT company, set up by a teacher-student partnership, celebrates its 10th year in the business this year.

A2Z Computing, which began its life in a back bedroom, will be celebrating the landmark by moving to new offices in a converted old chapel in Hereford Street, Newport.

The £130,000 renovation, part-funded by a grant from the WDA, will comprise offices, training rooms, repair rooms and a large conference centre upstairs which still possesses the original features of the old chapel.

Howard Kirkman, who was head of IT at a school in Newport, and his A-level pupil, Az Ashraf, set up the company in 1995 after identifying a niche to provide ICT services to the education sector.

They began by providing network support to primary and secondary schools in the Gwent area, but have since seen their services grow rapidly to incorporate ICT support to local businesses and SMEs and providing training facilities for IT technicians, clients and the public.

They have also led the way with innovative technologies, becoming the first company in the UK to provide clients with new 'green technology' as part of a partnership with German-based Fujitsu Siemens.

A2Z Computing's expanding client base now boasts around 400 clients including the WDA and Newport Unlimited, serviced by the team of 14 staff, which includes engineers, administration staff and web designers, who are all committed to quality of service which they pride themselves upon.

Mr Kirkman, joint company director, said: "The last 10 years for us have been very challenging and exciting. When we first had the idea to set up the business we couldn't even get financial backing from our bank, as they considered us to be a high risk. Now we are totalling an annual income of more than £600,000. "Our new building is a major achievement for us as it will enable us to provide all of our services under one roof and have a central base for our engineers. Plans are in the pipeline to open a second office in South Wales."

Joint company director Az Ashraf said: "ICT is an exciting environment to be involved in as the industry and technology is always changing. "Over the last 10 years we have been lucky to work with a variety of clients who all have different requirements. We have invested in a very strong team of staff who are committed to delivering a quality service to everyone. "We plan to continue growing over the next ten years and look forward to the new technologies we can pioneer!"