Green-fingered pupils at Skegby school celebrate eco award

The status is awarded to schools to acknowledge, reward and celebrate the ecological achievements of its young people.

At Skegby Junior Academy, pupils conducted an environmental review to assess how eco-friendly the school was, looking at everything from recycling practices and energy usage to how environmental themes are covered in lessons.

Children then formed an eco-committee and launched a series of activities based around biodiversity, recycling and energy.

Activities included a litter pick, tree planting – more than 70 trees and hedges donated by the Woodland Trust have been planted around the school site – and a bottle top competition, which encouraged people to collect bottle tops to repurpose for creative art projects.

The Ash Grove academy, part of the Greenwood Academies Trust, has also developed an eco-code, featuring statements such as “never litter, recycle your waste”, “encourage people to plant trees and flowers” and “make the right choice around transport”.

Laura Haigh, academy eco-coordinator, said: “I am incredibly proud of the children and all the work they put into achieving this fantastic award.

“Here at Skegby Junior Academy, we equip our pupils to succeed in an ever-changing world and be active citizens, so our pupils’ passion for our planet is amazing to see.”

One Year 6 pupil said: “This helped us to focus on what we can do to improve our school and help the environment.”