STAFF and pupils at a Manchester primary school hope to benefit from a bright idea - smart light bulbs.

Pupils at Green End primary school, in Burnage, will be the first in the country to benefit from a new lighting system which creates ideal conditions for study.

Developers Philips claim the "dynamic lights" - designed to mimic the sun's rays at different times of the day - can boost productivity by more than 10 per cent.

Classroom lamps cast different types of light throughout the day, triggering subtle physical reactions among pupils to help them focus harder during lessons.

For 10 minutes at the start of the day and 10 minutes after break time, classrooms will be bathed in an orange light, which replicates the wavelength of dusk sunlight, to help calm down the children.

While they are working, the computer-controlled lights will brighten to a sharp white-blue tone, simulating midday light, which is the time when the body is most active and alert.

The electronics giant chose the recently rebuilt 320-pupil primary as the first school to test the technology. Studies have shown the existence of a new receptor in the retina that plays an important part in setting people's "body clocks".

Productivity

Although it is the first time the system has been used in a school, previous studies in offices have suggested productivity can be increased by 10-14 per cent.

Education experts from Manchester Metropolitan University will spend the next 18 months studying the effect of the lights on students. They will compare pupils in a classroom using the system and with those using an ordinary classroom to see if behaviour and responsiveness improves.

Headteacher Leroy Taylor said: "This is the first time this has been used in a school, but we have been told that very subtle changes in light have been shown to increase performance.

"They will not be not looking at academic performance, but whether there's been an improvement in the wellbeing of children in terms of their attentiveness and social skills.

"Because there have been some teething problems it is too early to say whether there has been a difference in the way the children have reacted."

Building manager Andy Smith, from contractor Wilmott Dixon which built the school, said: "The lights are very subtle and the changes will not really be noticed by pupils, but there is strong evidence to show it does have a physiological effect. Even in areas where there are no dynamic lights, we have used a lot of natural light and windows to create an open atmosphere."

The é4.6m building opened in February. It features internal monitors which check temperature and carbon dioxide emissions and automatically opens windows to control temperature and ventilation. Rainwater from the roof is stored and recycled in the toilet system and classrooms also boast computerised whiteboards.

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