Pupils’ perceptions of noise in English secondary schools

A recent project has investigated acoustical conditions in secondary schools, in order to examine the effects of the acoustic environment on teaching and learning of 11- to 16-year-olds. The project has included objective acoustic surveys, subjective surveys of pupils and teachers and cognitive testing of pupils. For the subjective surveys an online questionnaire concerning the acoustic environment in schools was developed. Around 2600 pupils and 200 teachers from six secondary schools in England responded to the questionnaire; this paper reports the pupils’ responses. Pupils were asked to identify sounds heard in their school, to rate spaces in their school in terms of ease of hearing the teacher, and to comment on the effects of noise. They were also asked to identify rooms in which it was hardest and easiest to hear and understand the teacher. Examining the differential responses between various groups of pupils showed that those with particular learning needs were more affected by noise than other pupils. Acoustic surveys were also undertaken in the six schools, and, where possible, the subjective data has been compared with data on noise and reverberation times in the schools.