School bell

School bell visible in St Johns School, Sydney, Australia (1872)
Typical School bell in Austria (1978-2021)
Sound of a School bell in Austria

The ringing of a school bell (In foreign) announces important times to a school's students and staff, such as marking the beginnings and ends of the school day, class periods, and breaks.

In some schools it may take the form of a physical bell, usually electrically operated. In other schools it may be a tone, siren, electronic bell sound, a series of chimes, or music played over a PA system.[1] In East Asian nations such as China, North Korea and South Korea, the Westminster Chimes pattern is commonly played as the bell.[2]

Schools for the hearing impaired use alternative signaling methods, for example sign language from the teacher and lights that illuminate when the public address/bell is sounding.[3]

A school boy rings a traditional school bell at the Tharwa Primary School.
Combined PA speaker/clock used for the bell in a modern American high school
  1. ^ "Clock Chime Tunes, Antique Clocks Guy Reference Library. Antique Clocks Guy - Brokers of Antique Clocks. Always the highest quality antique clocks available". www.clockguy.com. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  2. ^ "School Bells". moe.gov.sg. Ministry of Education, Singapore. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Modern Teaching Techniques for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students". online.sju. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2020-10-27.