London schools say air purifiers bring 'peace of mind' in polluted area as new term begins
Two London primary schools have been using high-performance air purifiers from brand Blueair and found this has improved air quality in classrooms by 90%.
As the new school term begins, concerns around children’s exposure to toxic air are once again in the spotlight as new research from Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health reveals that more than 1.5 million children in England live in homes with unsafe air quality - and schools are also affected.
Since 2019, Netley Primary School & Centre for Autism and Gospel Oak Primary in London have taken matters into their own hands, using high-performance air purifiers donated by Swedish clean air experts Blueair, after being identified in the Mayor of London’s School Air Quality Audit Programme.
Six years on, updated tests show the purifiers are still improving classroom air quality by over 90%, bringing peace of mind to staff and pupils.
With construction projects and congested roads continuing to impact air quality in London, Headteacher Gareth Morris (Netley Primary & Centre for Autism, partnered with Gospel Oak Primary) stresses that air quality remains a critical issue for children’s health, learning and wellbeing.
“Air quality is a cause for concern in Central London schools,” says Gareth Morris, Head of School for Netley Primary School & Centre for Autism.
“Polluted air is shown to adversely impact on health and wellbeing, especially for children. We’ve been using the air purifiers since 2019 which have been proven to dramatically improve the indoor air quality in our classrooms and staffrooms.
"It is a major focus for Netley due to ongoing HS2 construction and the congested roads around our school. The units and ongoing monitoring give peace of mind that we are doing what we can to provide a healthy environment for all.
"We believe that indoor air quality needs to remain high up on the agenda and we’re pleased to work with Blueair to educate children and staff on the benefits of these units in the school.”