Zero Carbon Classroom

[BlasterBates]

£25,000 eco-classroom that can't be used because solar panels don't provide enough heat | Mail Online

...all in a good cause.

Can't they just put some chairs in a field.

[xoggoth]

So it has no children, what's wrong with that? No children sounds like the perfect solution to all the world's problems.

[TykeMerc]

That's a well written article, a couple of bits I enjoyed.

Parents have branded it ‘useless’, an ‘expensive piece of wood’ and a ‘great idea for the Caribbean’.

What is the point of a classroom that can’t be used when it’s a bit cold outside? My kids have been told it’s too cold for them to use as nobody can figure out how to heat it,’ said the parent, who did not want to be named.

Charlotte Linacre, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, accused the council of wasting money on pet projects which do not benefit pupils.

She said: ‘It’s an awful waste that so much money has been ploughed into this eco-mistake.
This project fails to meet the needs of staff and pupils by giving them a classroom that is most useful when the kids are on their summer holidays.

This one sums up local and national politics quite elegantly.

Lessons have to be learned at the local authority. They must stop spending taxpayers’ hard earned cash on expensive pet projects that do nothing to improve pupils’ education.

‘All this will teach kids is how poorly planned and costly local authorities projects can be.’

Lib Dem Councillor Gail Engerts said: ‘It is such a shame that, considering the fanfare, it emerges that this facility cannot be used by the children all year round.’

Headteacher Jill Hughes defended the project and said she hoped classes would be held in the classroom when the weather gets warmer.

She said: ‘We’re delighted to have the Living Ark - its a tremendous resource both for the school and the local community and is an important part of the Muswell Hill low carbon zone initiative.’

[OwlHoot]

£25,000 eco-classroom that can't be used because solar panels don't provide enough heat | Mail Online

...all in a good cause.

Can't they just put some chairs in a field.

and I bet there's some Eco Coordinator at the council on a salary of £100K who planned that fiasco among others.

[EternalOptimist]

Its built on the 'wind power' principle. i.e. works perfectly all year round if you believe all the eco-hype, but you need to have and maintain an old fashioned back-up just in case.

[Doggy Styles]

Headteacher Jill Hughes defended the project and said she hoped classes would be held in the classroom when the weather gets warmer.

She said: ‘We’re delighted to have the Living Ark - its a tremendous resource both for the school and the local community and is an important part of the Muswell Hill low carbon zone initiative.’

In what way is it a tremendous resource?

[EternalOptimist]

In what way is it a tremendous resource?

i suppose you could try to count the tree rings in the door frame to see how warm its going to get next year.

or maybe you could keep the meat in it

[TykeMerc]

i suppose you could try to count the tree rings in the door frame to see how warm its going to get next year.

or maybe you could keep the meat in it

WHS.

[thunderlizard]

£25k for an architect-designed detached structure on Muswell Hill? Peanuts. Here's what they can do:
(1) Get some gas heaters
(2) Get some more solar panels
(3) Flog it to Jeremy and Cassandra for £750,000.

Smiles all round.

[pjclarke]

Ah, more confirmation for my biases

1. If it is in the Mail, you just know it's bollox

2. If WattsUp picks it up the likelihood of it being true decreases further.

The damn thing was never intended to be used in cold weather, its a demo project by the Bedzed people

Jill Hughes, head teacher at the school, said it was “completely wrong to suggest that it hasn’t been used” and the “whole point” of the building was that “it doesn’t rely on conventional heating systems”.

She said: “We’re delighted to have the LivingArk – it’s a tremendous resource both for the school and the local community and is an important part of the Muswell Hill low carbon zone initiative.”

She added: “The building was only finished at the end of last term, and since that time more than half the classes in the school have held lessons there and the pupils have really enjoyed using it.”

Teachers are “planning more frequent use of the building ready for spring time”, she said.

The building was always intended for more regular use in conjunction with the school’s garden in the warmer months, said a council spokesman.

Never heard of Google?