Sout Australia's Outback, with its vast distances and hot, dry climate, is home to a very smal number of people, mostly living on sheep and cattle properties. Outback families face particular problems for their children. The nearest school is usually too far away for children to attend every day, and there are limited opportunities for the children to mix with other youngsters.

The School of Air based at Port Augusta provides an enriching curriculum for these children, allowing them to share learning experiences and develop their skills and knowledge. The school provides an educational standard comparable to that offered in a regular school. There's a library and book club, dental checks and medical screenings, assessment reports and parent interview sessions, a newsletter and school magazine. The major difference is the unique method of teaching and learning.

The students of the School of the Air do enjoy some experiences not available to those in regular schools. For example, they've spoken to astronauts, to the Australian Olympic Team in Barcelona, to captains of ships at sea, members of the Royal family, a class of students in Texas, USA, and a 747 pilot flying to Hong Kong.

Each year large numbers of tourists and educational experts from interstate and overseas visit the Port Augusta School of the Air to learn about its operations, to view displays of the students' work and to watch lessons in progress.

The Port Augusta School of the Air has given outstanding service for over 35 years, offering students a wide range of new and exciting experiences. It has built as excellent reputation among families living in rural areas.

The school opened in 1958 with one teacher and a headmistress and an enrolment of 29 primary school children. The first transmission of lessons were made from the Port Augusta Royal Flying Doctor Base. One year later, the school was able to move into its own centre at the port Augusta Primary School and by that time the number of students had already grown to about 100.

In 1991, the school became a campus of the Open Access College (a distance education service for South Australia). The school's charter changed to include students in a wider range of locations and age groups. From that time, the school began offering a comprehensive range of courses for secondary students via telephone and correspondance.

The School of the Air moved to its current Augusta Park location at the start of the 1994 school year. The new facilities were officially opened by the Minister for Education and Children's Services on 20 May 1994. At that time, it had an enrolment of 352 students and 21 teachers.

The School of the Air mainly caters for students who live up to 1000 kilometres from Port Augusta. Many live with their families on remote and isolated sheep or cattle stations. Others have been travelling with highway repair gangs or circuses, living in mining camps or on remote islands, or travelling around Australia. Some students are confined to a bed at home or in hospital.

Since 1991, the school's enrolment group has become increasingly diverse. Nowadays, a number of the students are based in schools but have enrolled in the School of Air to gain access to a particular subject not available in their local school. Many adults have enrolled to complete their secondary education. These include people needing new skills for employment as well as adults serving a term in prison and taking part in rehabilitation programs.

In the early days, pedal radio provided the vital links between isolated properties and the outside world. Today, a mosern form of high frequency (HF) radio is used for lessons, because of its low cost and effectiveness.

Students from five to twelve years of age (from reception level to year 7 in primary school) receive correspondance from their teachers and daily air lessons.

These lessons cover the full curriculum in mathematics, language arts, science, society and environment, the arts, technology, languages, health and physical education. The teachers take small groups of children for lessons lasting up to half an hour. Each school day begins with a student assembly and there are sessions for jokes and puzzles, school notices and fitness. Students can learn keyboard or recorder skills, and take part in scouting activities.

The school also uses other modern technology to deliver lessons. Most students have access to video facilities and so some lessons are provided on video cassette. Secondary students (in years 8 to 12) communicate with each other and their teachers via telephone modems, interactive computers, electronic whiteboards and fax machines. The school is one of the first in the world to trial an interactive video/audio/data sytem using personal computers linked through the existing telephone network.

The school sends curriculum material to each student by mail. Students complete their lessons under the supervision of a parent or supervisor (who may be an employee of the parents), discuss any problems with their teachers, and then return their assignments to the school by mail. These are marked by the teachers and returned. Mail is sent out to students weekly.

The School of the Air was one of the first to recognise the importance of the partnership between home and school and to value the contribution of families in educating children. Parents are very supportive of the teachers and active in management of the school.

The greatest challenge for teachers at the School of the Air is to develop the skills and knowledge of their students without the benefit of regular, close contact with them. Teaching distance education courses requires great patience, commitment and a sense of fun. Teachers prepare their lessons and resource materials carefully because the activities have to be relevant and challenging for the children. They need to allow for the fact that feedback to students will take longer than in other teaching situations. They also have to be prepared to deliver their lessons in front of an audience of tourists.

There are many rewards. School of the Air teachers get to know their students and their families very well, and appreciate the hospitality and strong sense of community they encounter in the Outback. The teachers go 'on patrol' in four-wheel drive vehicles to visit their students when possible, sometimes travelling for up to five days. The school has five itinerant teachers based in towns such as Coober Pedy and Leigh Creek. These teachers are constantly on the move, meeting the students and helping them with their educational programs.

The teachers also provide opportunities for students to meet each other and reduce feelings of isolation. They work with parents to organise annual school camps, the traditional end-of-year 'get together', regional mini schools and school experience weeks.

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