Solving reverberation issues in classroom at Bird in Bush Primary School

The merger of two primary schools in south London meant one of the school buildings would be retaining and upgraded to facilitate the combined 380+ students in the 3-11 age range.

The newly formed Bird in Bush Primary School is Southwark’s newest school, which has been adapted to accommodate an increased number of children to ensure their needs are met, and that the learning environment is inclusive for all.

One of the ways the school was adapted prior to opening for the autumn term was to create the right acoustic conditions inside one of the classrooms for a student with special educational needs (SEN), who was moving from Coburg School. The child’s condition meant that they were more susceptible to the adverse effects of noise resulting from reverberation and echo, which could potentially have an impact on their learning outcomes.

The child’s parents felt this was a particularly important issue to address given that their child was entering Year 6, which they believed would be more significant than previous school years and more stressful.

The acoustic treatment deployed involved the installation of Hush Absorber 50 sound absorber panels. These products were previously installed in the school's large dining hall to reduce high levels of background noise and echo.

The aim was to calculate the current reverberation time (RT), the time taken for the sound pressure level from the original sound to drop by 60dB after it stops, and work out how much absorption would be needed to bring this in line with the requirements of BB93.

The solution provided by Hush involved the manufacture and installation of 40x Hush Absorber 50 panels, which were sized 1200 x 600 x 50mm and covered in a fabric coloured in a neutral tone to blend seamlessly with the classroom’s main colour.

These were fitted onto the soffit of the classroom’s sloping ceiling which was important to ensure the walls could continue to be used for notice boards and other displays.

Prior to their installation, the RT was measured at 3.8s and following the upgrade the reduction in reverberation is evident in the fact that this figure is now 0.8s. This was the lowest figure possible given the available space for the sound absorber panels on the soffit.

Disruption to teaching was completely avoided because the Hush Absorber 50 panels were fitted in just one day during the summer holiday closure of the school.