Teacher switches off class wifi

A school principal has switched off his school's wifi system

A primary school in Northern Ireland has decided not to use wireless technology citing health fears.

The Department of Education said there was no evidence of any health risk and only one other school in NI has decided not to use it, using on cables instead.

Ian Thompson, the principal of Ballinderry PS in County Antrim, said he had turned off his wifi equipment.

"We don't really know the biological end of this, which is the thing which really concerns us," he said.

"It's all right saying there's no heat from it, we accept that, but we don't know what's going on inside.

"I would like more reassurance really."

The Department of Education uses Classroom 2000, or C2K, to administer computers and their networks in schools.

Along with the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, they have pointed to a study by the Health Protection Agency in England, where preliminary results indicated there was no physical health risk from using wifi.

The World Health Organisation has also said there is "no convincing scientific evidence" that the weak radiofrequency (RF) signals from wireless networks cause adverse health effects.