Parents of state school pupils are crowdfunding air purifiers to protect them from air pollution
'Parents have a greater awareness of airborne contaminants and children are among the most vulnerable. There is a rising interest'
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Your support makes all the difference.Parents are raising funds to fit air purifiers in schools to protect their children from air pollution.
More state schools are looking to install purifier units, which cost between £1,000 and £5,000 per classroom, amid growing concern about the impact of dirty air on children’s health.
Last year, Notting Hill Preparatory School, a private school in west London, fitted high-tech air purifiers – and now parents of state school children are crowdfunding for similar devices.
Christian Lickfett, managing director of Commercial Air Filtration, which installs air purifiers, said he was working with state schools but most of his requests were from private schools.
“Parents have a greater awareness of airborne contaminants and children are among the most vulnerable,” Mr Lickfett said. “There is a rising interest.”
Parent Kimberley Hickman, who is raising funds to set up air purifiers in her son’s school in London, told The Times that it was unfair that state school pupils were less likely to receive protection.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Hickman, who has a son with asthma at Goose Green Primary School in East Dulwich, said: “Funding is always going to be tighter in state schools. It is a given.”
But she added that local councils and the government have funding available to support environmentally-friendly schemes – including setting up air purifiers in state schools.
“Once one school does it, you will see others follow suit,” said Ms Hickman, who works part-time at the schools as a fundraiser.
A study released last week revealed that students in London are being taught in schools that regularly exceed air quality thresholds set by the World Health Organisation.
Experts have warned that exposure to air pollution can stunt the growth of children's lungs, and can be linked to asthma and chronic chest problems later in life.
Earlier this month, campaigners called for cars to be banned from the school gates at drop off and pick up times in a bid to cut down on air pollution.
A report found that more than two in five (42 per cent) of parents are concerned about levels of air pollution around their child’s school.
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