Shadow of Heathrow hangs over school

Under the expansion plans, planes would fly over Featherstone Primary School every 90 seconds - so low the noise could force teachers to stop speaking. The playground would be even noisier.

The school, in Southall, is one of about a dozen in west London which could be affected by serious aircraft noise.

It is three miles from the airport, but existing flightpaths skirt around it. The expansion would bring it within the so-called "57-decibel contour", meaning it would be subjected to noise levels described as "highly annoying" in the Government's own studies.

Headteacher Kate Bailey said the school had not been asked for its views by the Government, which is conducting a public consultation exercise on the proposals.

"Our pupils will suffer because the noise will suspend lessons - at times they may not be able to hear what the teacher is saying - and their playtimes will be interrupted, which means less fun and poor social skills," she said.

"The stress on staff trying to teach with so much noise also has to be taken into consideration.

"In addition, children's health may suffer from increased air pollution and interrupted sleep due to aircraft flying overhead up to 11pm.

"The proposed changes will have a devastating impact on the education of children in Southall."

Ealing council is holding a public meeting at the school on 7 February so parents can have their say.

Subash Verma, 45, an estate agent whose son Rohan, four, goes to the infants school, said: "This will affect me and my family directly but do we have any say? We haven't been told anything.

"I feel angry and bitter. It will disrupt Rohan's education and could damage his delicate ears."

Anisa Ismail, a science student and former Featherstone pupil whose sister Iqra, seven, attends the school, said: "No one has told us anything and I don't think they were planning to. The kids aren't going to be able to concentrate in class. It will be chaos."

Nabeela Masih, whose daughter Nathania, eight, attends Featherstone, said: "It's going to be hard for them to study. It will stop children learning properly."

Steve Ogin, chairman of the governors for 15 years until last year, has been trying to raise awareness of the implications of expansion.

He said the school could be subjected to aircraft noise eight times worse than at present, adding: "Featherstone would be close to the departure flightpath - noisier than landing. They will be affected when planes take off from the east - about a third of the time."

Ealing council spokesman Vlod Barchuk said: "The Department for Transport has failed to take account of its own studies into aircraft noise that show a much larger number of people will be affected than previously thought."

A BAA spokesman said: "Heathrow's expansion is the subject of a consultation and future flight paths are purely indicative at this stage. It is not possible to ascertain what the precise impact of growth will be on local schools."

He said BAA's Community Buildings Noise Insulation Scheme had £25million earmarked to provide acoustic insulation for 63 buildings including hospitals, schools, colleges and nurseries.