OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18414, 22 June 1925, Page 8

OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS.

REPLY TO CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. At tho meeting of tlio Canterbury Education Board on Friday, the chairman, Mr 11. J. Bignell, made ft statement of the Board's viewpoint.oll openair schools. To this Dr. Phillipps makes tho following reply:— Mr Bignell stated that tho Fendalton open-air school was designed by enthusiasts who probably had not had the wido experience in school construction possessed by the officers of the Department and the Board. Tho Fendalton open-air school was not designed by enthusiasts, but by me. When I say that it was designed by me, I mean that I am perfectly willing to accept all responsibility for any defects in the design, but am anxious to point out that practically all tho points in the design have been derived from others, and any credit that may be due is really duo to theso persons and not to me. As regards experience: after, all, experience is only valuable in so far as a person is capable of profiting by such experience. Mr Bignell then stated that the three main points in modern school construction are the lighting, teutilation, and heating. 1.- Lighting.—At tho request of the Director, Division of School Hygiene, two of the leading ophthalmic surgeons of Ohristchurch furnished reports to tho Department on the lighting of tho Fendalton open-air schoolroom. Hero are their reports, published, I may say, ivith their full sanction:—

"I beg to state that I am quite familiar with the lighting conditions of tho optfn-air school at Fendalton, and that I Am of tho opinion that it is not in any way detrimental for the teachers' eyes to face tho north-east windows while giving lessons." (Signed) A. B. O'BRIEN, F.K.C.S., Eng. "I ha\ - e visited tho open-air classroom of tho Fendalton School. I found the lighting arrangements ndmlrable-r----the light was abundant and well diffused and not trying' in any position to either pupils or teacher." (Signed) 11. WALI3,S, bphthalmic Surgeon, Ohristchurch Hospital.

2. Ventilation. —In an open-air school ventilation is hardly the term to use. Tho thing to bo aimed at is to make tho air in the room approximate as far as possible to the outside air. This idea is convoyed in the term "opeii-air school, " Whilo it is impossible to make the air in any structure equal to the outside air, .1 very good approximation liaS boon made in the Fendalton classroom. '' That there is no protection from the wind when the sliding doors are opep, and that there is no cross-ventila-tion whe» the doors are closed" are statements showing such obvious misconceptions that I do not prcfposo to deal with them.

3. Heating.—Professor Loonard Hill says: "Children need nn atmosphero with not less, but a greater,. cooling Above all, the growing child requires his metabolism (body processes) to bo adequately stimulated by the cooling poWQr of tho open air, not reduced by too, close confinement in schools and too long hours of sedentary dccupation." Further, ho says: "The ideal method of warning and ventilating rooms would give radiant heat, a warm floor, and an agreeable movement of cpol air. Open fires and properlyflued modern g&B flres give us radiant heat, and a warm floor within range of this heat. 80-called radiators, gas or stnam-heated, together with the heat and moisturo from the bodies of people, make warm and humid the upper strata of rooms"-—the very conditions which we do not want: Steam radiators have been installed in theßoard's most recent schools'.

A point is made of the rejection of Mr Wiriaor'a plan for thci proposed Lyttelton Street School by the Education Department. The fact remains thsit it was rejected, whereas the Department, on tho other hand, approved of the Fendnlton plap. Mr Bignell complained also that com parisons had been made between the open air school and schools built 50 years ago. In my report to the Health Department for the yoftr 1922, I criticised the construction of school buildings; and mentioned a number of speoifle instances, eVery one of which was a modern school eroeted within, roughly, the last ten years. Research on the ecience of ventilation and open-air treatment has been carried out by the Medical Research Committee (National Health Assurance) in Great Britain, under the difeotipn of Professor Leonard Hillj M.8., F.R.fi., Director of the Department of Applied Physiology, Medical Research .Committee. Professor Leonard liilj gives Ave questions to be applied to school rooms:—

1. Does the air of the schoolroom feel cool rathe* than hot* 2. Is it dry rather than damn? 3. Is full advantage taken of the sunlight? 4. Is the cooling effect of the atmosphere continually varying P 5. Is the air moving'or stagnant? On Friday I was in a number* of rooms at one of the Board's newest schools, and mentally applied these questions, with the following result 1. The air felt hot rather than cool. 2. The air was dry rather than damp. 3. Full advantage was not taken of the sunshine. The school does not get the sunlight, throughout tho day, Owing to the arrangement of the, any sunlight en- ' tenng the room must pass tjirough glass, even when the windows are open Qlass filters off the ultraviolet rays, which are the most benefloial rftys of the sunlight. A, There was no cooling effect of the atmosphere, p. The air was stagnant, Apply thes.e questions now to the Pendalton class-room:

}: Tl \® air of the classroom feels cool rather than hot. Even on a hot day, as there are windows in nil four walls Which open to the outside air, if there is any movement of air outside a breeze can be passed through tho room, and the room thus kept cool,

2, The air is dry rather than damp. 3. Full advantage is n&t taktfn of the sunlight, as the morning sun v comes through glass. In the afternoon, however, full advantage is taken of the sunlight, as it comes through tho op?n side without any intervening glass, U'he need for tl>e windows on the north-east side through which the morning sun comes is caused by our prevalent cold north-east winds.

4. As the heat of the sun when shining is relied o% for warming the rooni and as a current of air can always be' kept through the room, the atmosphere is continually varying. o. Tho windows on all four Walls opening to the outside air make it

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nearly always possible to hare the iSa#-,, moving. Mr Signal stpted that the Board »d- \ mitted that many of the old s<ho®l* were unsatisfactory, but were being *** built as quickly ae circumsUAeeea p*rmitted. The open-air schools of . t||» Fendalton type can be built for aboat half the average cost per room of schools now being erected, taking an average figure of the combined coat of wooden and brick schools. If the adopted the Fendalten typa of openair school they could build twice as many schools for the same money, whiet would, mean, of course, that these districts ilow waiting for new schools weald have to wait only half as iong.