‘Classes don’t need air-con’

Bundamba student Joshua Anderson shows minister Geoff Wilson and MP Rachel Nolan his new pencil case.

Rob Williams

STUDENTS sweltering in 36-degree heat this week is not enough to convince the State Government to expand its air-conditioning program Cooler Schools.

Even the three upgraded Schools of Tomorrow in Ipswich – Bundamba, Silkstone and Riverview – are not air-conditioned.

Education Minister Geoff Wilson, on a visit to Bundamba State School yesterday, said its classrooms were cool enough for students.

He said classrooms were kept cool through insulation, the design of the buildings and shade trees planted next to windows.

“Perhaps everyone would like to be in air-conditioning, but the sustainability measures we have in place keep those rooms cooler than a normal classroom.

“I recognise that there is hot weather in Ipswich at the start and the end of the school year, but it’s only a small portion of the year.

“When we build new buildings, we must think of the environment and this school has a world-class environmental design.”

The school’s principal has an air-conditioned room, as do other public servants in Ipswich – including those working in the new courthouse.

State Member for Ipswich Rachel Nolan said non-air-conditioned classrooms were appropriate for the Bundamba school.

She said her former primary school, Ipswich East State School, was not air-conditioned and she achieved a solid education.

“I don’t think air-conditioning is necessary for a good education,” she said.