“Having gone to work with him many times and seen how the carpet was made, I understood the benefits, the quality and strength of it.”
It’s not the first time Klein has used wool.
“I had wool carpets put into the first school where I was a principal in 1991, and it’s still there.
“So, when the opportunity arose to do it here, I was very keen.”
The Wools of New Zealand carpets have been laid in six of the Year 1 to 6 school’s classrooms as part of a refurbishment programme.
“It’s replacing very old synthetic carpet,” Klein said.
“If I could, I’d like to have wool carpet throughout the entire school.”
Klein said wool was more comfortable for the children to sit on than synthetic carpet.
“The children love it, they have been lying down on it, saying how nice it feels, and the staff love it too.
“You walk in, and the classrooms are so peaceful.
“It is a very nice environment for everyone.”
The school serves a multicultural South Auckland community.
Its classrooms are set out in the open spaces of the Innovative Learning Environment style.
“We bought about 100 linear metres and we have extra that we can put down in areas where the children sit on the floor,” Klein said.
“I’m confident it is going to work very well for the school.”
Wools of New Zealand chief executive John McWhirter said wool carpet had natural sound-proofing qualities.
“It can reduce noise by up to 55 per cent,” he said.
“That’s due to the millions of wool fibres, which enable it to absorb sounds over a wide range of frequencies.”
McWhirter said other wool qualities included insulation, stain resistance, shape retention and fire safety.
“The high keratin, protein and moisture content means [wool fibres] are more difficult to ignite and with a lower risk of a fire spreading.”
