Alice Springs School of the Air plays an integral part in children’s lives in the Australian outback. At the School’s Visitor Centre - one of the town’s premier tourist attractions - you will connect with these children, hear their stories of life on the land, and share in their journeys, dreams, and achievements.
The Australian outback is some of the most unforgiving country in the world. Prior to the 1950s, children in these remote areas were both socially isolated and poorly educated. Books were few and far between, and parents worried daily about their kids falling behind.
But then, on the radio, scratchy at first – and only three lessons a week - came the School of the Air:
For hundreds of children in the Australian outback, the Alice Springs School of the Air is now their lifeline to education. We now broadcast many lessons each day to a classroom that extends over 1.3 million square kilometres (502,000 square miles). Visit us to share in the lives of outback kids and their families on cattle stations, Aboriginal communities, in national parks, mining camps or roadhouses in some of the most remote areas on the planet. They may not catch a bus or ride or walk to school, but they will do anything to attend their remote classroom, even if it means squeezing in a cattle muster or water bore run with mum and dad first!
These days, our lessons are online and students can interact with their teachers in a way that was never dreamed of back in the 1950's.
Join us on a tour of the School of the Air and you may have the opportunity to view a teacher conducting a live lesson in one of our
five broadcasting studios, right in front of you!
Pre-recorded lessons are always available to view.
The School of the Air aims to inspire students to recognise and realise their potential. And boy do they have this in spades! During your visit to the Alice Springs School of the Air Visitor Centre, our local guides will share countless stories from our students and their teachers.
The albums in this gallery are full of vibrant photos providing an insight into the Alice Springs School of the Air past and present.
