The Alice Springs School of the Air is marking its 75th anniversary this year by inviting travellers to see how the world’s first remote school reaches students across the Northern Territory’s vast Red Centre from its base in Alice Springs.
Visitors who want to learn about a key aspect of living far away from Australia’s main urban areas –on cattle stations, Aboriginal communities, in national parks, mining camps or roadhouses in some of the most remote areas on the planet – can watch live lessons broadcast to students across the Outback, and hear stories of life on the land from the children.
Prior to the 1950s, children in these remote areas were both socially isolated and poorly educated and books were few and far between, with parents worried about their kids falling behind.
Early lessons went out as three half-hour radio broadcasts a week but today, teachers run three interactive lessons daily, each 30 to 60 minutes, in English, Maths, Science, the Arts and Physical Education,.
They are beamed by high-speed broadband and satellite from seven digital studios, covering an area of 1.3 million square kilometres.
The tourist centre funds extra student amenities.
