The NSW Government has announced Dubbo College (Delroy, Senior and South Campuses), Buninyong Public School, Dubbo North Public School, Dubbo Public School, Dubbo School of Distance Education, Dubbo South Public School and Dubbo West Public School will get air conditioning under its Cooler Classrooms program.

ALSO READ NSW students receive long-awaited results | Rolling coverage

Dubbo College Delroy Campus principal Debbie Head said adding reverse cycle air-conditioning to her school will make a “huge difference” to how teachers and students interact.

“We all know the Dubbo summer is hot but inside a classroom with 30 bodies in that space it certainly makes it very hot indeed,” she said.

“This will be of great benefit in those hot summer months because we all know it is easier to work and learn in an environment that is comfortable.

“Cooling the classrooms will make the teachers more comfortable so it will become easier for them to teach and the students will be more at ease which will make it easier for them to learn.

“We’ve found a lot of our students feel hot, sweaty and lethargic during summer and that is not a good environment to learn in.”

ALSO READ Dubbo has 1968 'unclaimed items' held by Revenue NSW

Mrs Head said the benefits wouldn’t just be during the summer months.

“It will be reverse-cycle and we know how cold the winter months are in Dubbo, so this will keep our students warm and cosy during those months which will also make it easier to work, it is just an all-around fantastic initiative,” she said.

“We’ve had people come out to our school and have a look, take measurements, look at what electrical upgrades might be needed and generally get prepared, so it is exciting to see that we are on the pathway to getting this done.”

Member for Dubbo Troy Grant said the Cooler Classrooms program aims to provide environments where students and teachers can best succeed.

“We all know how hot it can get in western NSW during summer, so for these schools to be part of this project is a terrific result for our electorate,” he said.

Education Minister Rob Stokes said the program is economically and environmentally sustainable.

“We’re installing solar panels and ‘smart systems’ alongside the air conditioning units, so schools can offset their additional energy use and efficiently heat and cool their schools,” he said.

Mrs Head said she had investigated ways to make the solar panels financially work for the school.

“I have looked at ways the solar panels can work to help the environment, but in the longer term having them will open up the possibility of being a positive for us in a financial sense,” she said.

“This will be fabulous for our school both now and into the future. It is good to know that the kids out in the West where it is both boiling hot and freezing cold will now be more comfortable and schools will be more environmentally efficient.”