Children keep warm in class by wrapping up in blankets at the Rhiwbina Open Air School,1937
During the coronavirus pandemic we have all been encouraged to spend as much time as possible outside.
This is because there is less chance of spreading the virus in the open air and due to a body of evidence regarding the health benefits of Vitamin D from sunlight.
These are issues most of us have rarely given a second thought to in our lifetimes, but you may be surprised to learn that within living memory, these have been the top priorities for our schools and education system during another era when a disease stalked the nation.
After an increase in tuberculosis in our inner-cities in the 1930s, in the lead up to World War II, purpose-built education institutions for children were built, called 'Open Air Schools'
They were a simple but effective idea and in an era when schools are fighting valiantly to keep children safe from disease.
The schools were built to provide open-air therapy so that fresh air, good ventilation and exposure to the outside would improve children's health.
They were mostly built in areas away from city centres, sometimes in rural locations, to provide a space free from pollution and overcrowding.