LOUD noise outside schools seems to damage children鈥檚 performance in exams. 鈥淭he higher the noise levels, the lower the scores,鈥� says Bridget Shield of London South Bank University.
Her team measured noise levels during lesson times outside 142 primary schools in London. Then they compared the levels against published results of the standard national exams taken by all pupils at ages 7 and 11.
The noisier the environment, the worse the results, even when other possible causes of poor performance, such as social deprivation, were factored in. The researchers, who presented their results at a conference in Vancouver, Canada, this week, say that education authorities the world over should try to site schools away from loud traffic if possible, or to insulate or redesign existing buildings to shield pupils from noise.
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