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UCI Road Worlds to force Aussie schoolkids out of classroom and back online

Schools in Wollongong to close on safety grounds next month when New South Wales city hosts event

Schoolchildren in Wollongong, New South Wales will be forced out of the classroom and back to online learning when the UCI Road Cycling World Championships take place there next month.

The championships, said to be the biggest ever hosted in the city which lies on the coast around 85km south of central Sydney, will take place from 18-25 September, with 300,000 visitors expected.

That coincides with the final week of the first half of the second semester of the school year, reports ABC.

The decision to close classrooms at seven schools in the city and switch students back to virtual learning – something with which all but the youngest will be familiar of course thanks to the coronavirus pandemic – was reportedly taken in the interests of their safety.

More than 300,000 spectators are expected to be in the city for the world class racing event from September 18 to 25.

Parents were informed of the school closures, which are necessary due to the event making them inaccessible, earlier this week.

David Lamb of Education NSW said that while schools had demonstrated that remote learning was possible during the pandemic, in contrast with the situation then, parents or carers unable to help children study online would not be able to bring them to classrooms while the championships are taking place.

He said: “Unfortunately, one of the by-products of the race, the schools will be shut and no one will be there," he said.

“We will have to rely on our parents to discuss with their principals what is the best option for them and look at alternatives.”

Lamb added that a further 12 schools close to the routes of the races would “be advised of road closures and alternate routes to and from school and be encouraged to plan their trip in advance.”

Duncan McDonald of the NSW Teachers Federation said that it was a shame that the Road Worlds did not likewise coincide with the school holidays.

“There are some concerns that the week will be disruptive to number of schools,” he explained.

He said that the school closures would particularly impact the most vulnerable students who attend classes in support units.

“The principals and teachers do a remarkable job in those support units, so when there is disruption and there is not a predictable day it makes the day very challenging.

“So unfortunately, we will see students miss the opportunity to be at school with their classmates, but also it will be difficult do their circumstances to do the online learning.”

But he added that no matter the disruption caused by the World Championships, the current shortage of teachers in the state was a far more serious problem.

"The level of disruption does not compare to the everyday disruption that is occurring in all schools due to the significant long term teacher shortages,” he insisted.

“On a daily basis the impact is noticed, COVID and flu are making a bad situation much worse, schools are struggling and very challenged trying and get teachers in front of students every day,” he added.

The week-long UCI ProTour race, the Tour Down Under – not held in the past two years due to the pandemic – usually takes place in January to coincide with the final week of the summer school holidays in South Australia, helping boost spectator numbers, including families, often visiting from out of state.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

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Awavey | 1 year ago
1 like

The ABC report mentions a college that might also have been impacted, simply moved its term dates so it wasnt...cant help feel theres something else causing this problem that's got nothing to do with the cycling.

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Roulereo | 1 year ago
0 likes

That is really disappointing from the Organisers and no doubt fuel for the anti-cycling morons to rant. 

Children in NSW and Victoria bore the brunt of the bedwetting and unnecessary Lockdowns, leading to record numbers of kids now with mental health problems, a  massive decrease in sports participation (>obesity), etc. Covid Karens in state Governments like this and elsewhere closed schools for most of the 20-21, then mandated children (who faced a less than 0.001% chance of mortality etc. from the virus) must wear masks in the classropom and playgrounds at school, closed public playgrounds, etc. The havoc caused on Aussie children by the  'Covid response',  health bureaucrats and their Neo-Stalinist socialist governments, abetted by the MSM, has been irreperable. 

These same children are now under-educated, disproportionally so for poorer children with less access to facilities for home schooling or with busy working parents etc. Impacting them now is unacceptable. Even a week of basically lost schooling continues to inflict damage on these children by the socialist state governments and their Covid Karen and bedwetting types. 

Surely a simple review of the course would have been more prefereable? Multiple laps, out & back or part hotdog course, etc. 

Avatar
mdavidford replied to Roulereo | 1 year ago
2 likes

Roulereo wrote:

That is really disappointing from the Organisers

 Except that it's not their decision - it's the education authorities'.

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Roulereo replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
0 likes

Except the ABC (trust their 'reporting' at your peril) doesn't bother to check if the Organisers and 'education authorities' discussed a solution.

Be assured it's all just Bedwetters and or pathetic tyrants, that's anyone in all levels of government or bureaucracy in Australia. 

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mdavidford replied to Roulereo | 1 year ago
2 likes

Whether they discussed it or not, the organisers wouldn't have the power to close the schools. The route must have been given approval by local authorities - if the education authorities didn't raise concerns due to that process, that's on them; if they did, it presumably was considered not enough of an issue to prevent it going ahead.

In any case, it doesn't sound like they're really all that bothered by it - more interested in using it as a way to highlight issues of staffing shortages

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RobD replied to Roulereo | 1 year ago
2 likes

The children might have a low mortality risk, but unless they're going in to teach each other, the staff will be at risk, as will many of the parents and families of those children that will have had a great opportunity to spread the virus as has happened in the UK.

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Paul J replied to RobD | 1 year ago
0 likes

Working age people are also at very low risk from covid. Particularly under-50s.

Further, everyone in the West now has vaccines available, if they wish. Which appear to reduce risk of severe covid illness significantly.

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Roulereo replied to RobD | 1 year ago
0 likes

But the teachers have to vaccinated by law, otherwise they must be sacked. If they're vaccinated they're safe. Trust the science.

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Steve K replied to Roulereo | 1 year ago
3 likes

Can people please not use words like "leftard" - or any other kind of "tard".  They are based on the extremely offensive R word, and therefore are themselves offensive.

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chrisonabike replied to Steve K | 1 year ago
2 likes

Unfortunately some posters just love certain lingo.  I suspect for exactly the reasons you're mentioning.  Gotta just hope it's parody and / or road.cc staffers stirring the pot (remember the "letters page"?).

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