Good School Room Acoustics provide for better results.

Every school should have an optimised sound environment and the key to achieving this is with good room acoustics. Quality sound absorption improves the teaching space sound environment as ancillary sounds and echoes cease to distract students. Good room acoustics put the sound focus where it should be.

It is a fact that audio canals don’t develop completely until the age of seventeen or eighteen years of age and as crucial learning years start well before that, a sound learning environment should be a mandatory and key consideration in schools.

Sadly until 20 years ago, there were no regulations around acoustics in schools. It is frightening to think that half of the schools built in the past 20 years have not complied with obligatory acoustic regulation so parents should be concerned. Certainly Respace acousticians are concerned.

Respace recognises that good acoustics are crucial in ensuring an optimist teaching and learning platform. It works to help the education sector achieve and exceed where possible, the building regulations standard for new schools. It also believes established schools should be afforded the same benefit in working to improve school room acoustics.

The result in improving school acoustics is six fold. First and foremost, good room acoustics lead to improved student communication. They also facilitate enhanced teacher control. They provide for speech clarity which aids learning. Good room acoustics in a school will create a more natural learning environment that will contribute to improved student results. Lastly and importantly, they will also help to reduce teacher stress and fatigue. All of the above are advantages that no school can afford to do without.

It is particularly relevant in schools where there are open learning environments – libraries being a good example. These are quiet environments where students are concentrating, often revising for important exams and any distraction will have only negative effects on their ability to absorb and retain information. An even more essential situation where good room acoustics are required is in a school for hearing impaired children. The impact of effective sound acoustics makes a tremendous difference to both teachers and students where the ability to hear and understand clearly has to be the most key consideration in learning.

In acoustically treated classrooms, there is a noticeable reduction in background noise, while the sound of the teacher becomes far clearer. The need to improve established schools and ensure that local Councils enforce obligatory regulations for sound acoustics in schools is loud and clear. That companies like Re space have recognized and taken steps to help to be applauded and should be taken note of. Re space has gone so far as to provide a unique, free of charge acoustic assessment, consultancy and design service to schools. This should be a clear call to parents attending the next parent/teacher meetings to ask the question about acoustics and encourage the academic bodies to treat the need to create or improve the learning environment as necessary and that they should take advantage of acoustic assessments on offer, especially when they are offered free of charge.