Staff and students in NSW’s far west are set for a disrupted start to 2024 following the discovery of mould at their high school.
Intense heat and humidity have been blamed for triggering the biological hazard in multiple buildings throughout Willyama High School, which has about 500 students, in Broken Hill.
A specialist contractor was called in to begin remediation work, but the damage was worse than initially thought and will take longer to repair, according to reports.
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It means students enrolled at the school will not return to classrooms on February 8 as originally planned, although the Department of Education is understood to be weighing up options to ensure students can resume their education on that date.
“Given the recent issues with mould being discovered at Willyama High School, Council wishes to acknowledge the efforts being undertaken by the Department of Education and local teachers to ensure schooling will remain available in the immediate future for affected students,” Broken Hill City Council said.
Authorities said each impacted area will be “environmentally cleaned” before air monitoring is conducted to ensure it is safe.
“Following assessment by the hygienist, each space will be cleared and the school provided with a clearance certificate,” the NSW Department of Education told the Barrier Truth.
“We have also assessed key equipment and infrastructure in the school such as the air conditioning and IT systems to confirm they are in appropriate condition.”
The department and school were sought for comment.
Another danger for returning students
The mould issue comes as authorities warn drivers about the return of school speed zones from Tuesday, despite most public students not returning to the classroom until Thursday.
More than 3200 fines were issued in NSW over the first three school days in 2023.
The top five speed camera locations in NSW school zones for January 2023 were:
- Woodville Road Chester Hill southbound – 229 (fines)
- Princes Highway Kogarah northbound & southbound – 151
- Pittwater Road North Narrabeen northbound & southbound – 146
- Victoria Road Ryde eastbound & westbound – 140
- Parker Street Kingswood northbound & southbound – 135
“Too many people are taking risks during school pick up and drop off times and this behaviour must stop as we know that it is during these periods when children are most vulnerable on our roads,” Peter Khoury from the NRMA said.
“We need to ensure complacency does not set in after the long summer break and that motorists adjust their behaviour starting tomorrow, even though students do not return to the classrooms until Thursday.
“The number of drivers fined running red lights is also alarming, with a 16 per cent jump on the previous year.”