Parklands Christian College students have given up their comfortable Friday night to take part in a school sleep out raising their awareness of homelessness.
The sleep out finalised the year 11 technology learning unit about homelessness in Australia, which they have been completing for two terms.
They also needed a night to test their their handmade shelters for the homeless.
The shelter creation was a major task for their unit, where they had to design and construct a shelter for someone to sleep in.
Each shelter had to be movable, make the person feel safe and be constructed for under $40.
The students agreed that the sleep out was more difficult than they expected.
Earlier in the unit, a Big Issue spokesperson and a man who had experienced homelessness gave a presentation to the class where the students were made aware that more than 105,000 people are homeless in Australia and 26 per cent of them are under the age of 18.
The Big Issue is a not-for-profit organisation which creates jobs for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people through the printing and selling of a fortnightly magazine.
Lead Teacher of Design and Construction Zac Cunningham said during the presentation the students were able to ask questions about what it was like to sleep rough.
“The students were thinking (that the sleep out) would be a bit of fun sleeping out under the stars but quickly realised how tough some people have it in Australia,” he said.
Their shelters will now be distributed to those in need.
