How common is air conditioning in private school classrooms?

[ParentOfOne]

How common is it to have air conditioning in private schools?

I don't mean just the principal office or the staff room, I mean the classrooms where pupils are.

We are a state school family, but I have heard lots of colleagues complaining that their expensive private schools don't have aircon, so I was wondering how common that is.

Also, how common is it to have private schools built llike greenshouses? In the state sector, quite a lot, because I think that for a while guidelines prioritised heat retention and sun exposure, without taking into account that the weather is not that of 200 years ago any more.

Maybe it depends on the building? Our private school was built about 8 years ago and has air conditioning. I can imagine it would be difficult to refit AC into a historically old building or maybe one built in the 60-70s that could still have asbestos inside the cladding.

Your everyday private school (ie not the big public schools, your average provincial private school) operates on tight margins and air con is not high on the list of priorities, or affordable purchases, for most I would imagine. None of the private schools DDs have attended have air con, and this includes a provincial girls boarding school where the dorms get unbearably hot in summer.

There haven’t really been any glass buildings that I can recall, apart from one new sixth form centre that was built maybe 15 years ago. It’s mostly old, slightly crumbling buildings!

This is just my experience, I have only anecdotes and not data! 😊

Our state primary, built in the 60s, has air con installed in every room.

But I think it was a situation where the heating was packing up, and the LA was forced to install a whole new system, and in doing that installed a combined heating and air con system. This was a few years ago before my DDs started.

But plenty of private schools aren’t flush with cash so I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t afford it.

It varies hugely, because the private sector ranges from the massive wealthy elite schools like Eton right through to the tiny Sen friendly or religious schools that operate on tiny margins.

At my kids’ school the new building finished a couple of years ago has air con, but the rest is much older and the cost to retrospectively install air con is prohibitive. They have bought fans, but can’t do much more.

Our school was built a couple of hundred years ago. No aircon.

DC says their common room had a mahoosive fan, the physics room had 2 AC units and the library was very chilly...but I think he may have struck lucky, as I am not sure that all of the buildings are AC. They are fortunate to have a pool (and a lake...) so there are opportunities to cool off before/after lessons.

I doubt even Eton has air con

The buildings are probably grade 1 listed and you can’t put things like air con in these buildings

DC1 senior school - some buildings do, some don’t

DC2 junior school - pretty much all does as most buildings are modern

School I work in, has aircon in exam rooms, IT rooms and learning support suite.

The staffroom/heads office most definitely does NOT 🤣

Our private school is pretty old and doesn’t have air con, it’s not a big name school and will run on pretty tight margins so it’s not getting air con any time in the future.

I’m have one in private and one in state. Private has no AC, but state did as was a recently built school.

I think particularly with the grand old private schools (Eton, Winchester etc) they'd be even less likely than states to have aircon for the simple reason their buildings are listed and hundreds of years old so you're not allowed to just drill a unit to the outside of the wall.

My kids in 2 separate private schools neither has aircon for this reason, listed buildings. They have loads of those portable units they can stick the tube out the window but when you have a load of sweaty boys in a classroom they aren't really effective.

But I'm not going to moan about it. Planning is planning and we wouldn't be happy if all our beautiful old buildings were desecrated with ugly units drilled on them.

*I have

Generally across the three schools we have children at, newer blocks have air con and older buildings (including the 1960/70s ones) do not. One school extensively renovated its main Edwardian building and air con fitted but I assume that is unusual.

But the flip side is both mine in private school break up next week so schools are out for the hottest two months of the year. My child in state school struggles on for an extra three weeks.

@MyKindHiker But I'm not going to moan about it. Planning is planning and we wouldn't be happy if all our beautiful old buildings were desecrated with ugly units drilled on them.

This is the wrong attitude. Health is more important than a misguided sense of tradition and aesthetics. The fact that there are still buildings where you cannot install double glazing, for example, is beyond insane.

As is the fact that in England we require planning permission to install external shutters or external blinds. Which are exactly the kind of passive measures we need in order to limit overheating. Or the fact that, regardless of the council, in many flats the freeholder will never let you - so most flats built over the last 2 decades are greenhouses which are easily 7-10C warmer than outside.

Sure but they can afford the portable units.

DD's tiny independent school has some, I believe just in the newest building.

It depends on the building. At DD’s school the main, very old building doesn’t, but the brand newly built science block does.

Children’s state primary had aircon. The two different, highly academic private secondary schools did not.

Despite misconceptions, we were paying for rigour not luxury.

DC’s school has a mix. All the buildings are Victorian with some more modern editions but depends really when it was last refurbed. DD is lucky enough to have it in her classroom. The early years site when DS in reception is doesn’t have any at all though.

@Pacificwave Despite misconceptions, we were paying for rigour not luxury.

Aircon during a heatwave is NOT a luxury.
I get the British sense of tradition, I get the stiff upper lip, but it very much is NOT a luxury.

It beggars belief why heating in the winter is considered normal - but cooling in the summer isn't.

Sure, 30 years ago this was an anomaly not worth preparing for.
But those times are over.

I mean, FFS, it is illegal to transport live animals at more than 30C, but it is a "luxury" to expect children to have lessons and exams without fainting from a heatstroke??

If heatstroke was a serious risk I would expect the schools to close down. As it is all three of my children say that the non air conditioned areas of their schools are being kept at manageable temperatures and they are fine at school.

Heating is essential because there’s a far longer part of the year when it’s needed. All schools (private and state) need to assess the cost benefit before installing air conditioning. At the moment, given the small number of days we have these high temperatures, most aren’t going to invest.

DDs prep has none. The original building was built in the 1700s but new additions don’t have AC. She’s on half days are the classrooms are quite small and stuffy.

DDs much bigger senior school has some in newer buildings but none in the original school which is 500 years old. They’re moving classes where they can but she says it’s hot and the windows barely open. They’re on a normal timetable with accommodations.

If there isn't enough money to retrofit it's one thing - but that doesn't mean it would be a luxury.

Also, you can wear another layer in a room with no heating.
You cannot peel off your skin in a hot room with no aircon - and if it gets too hot then fans only move hot air around

I tend to agree with you OP. I am just pointing out that if folks think that private school kids are all lounging around in aircon, they’d be wrong. I found it was the reverse actually.