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IT'S been a busy year for pupils at Red Hill Primary School in Worcester, who are settling well in to their new eco-friendly home.

The £3.5 million flagship school is celebrating its first birthday this week and has already scooped two prestigious awards; the City Award from Worcester City Council, in recognition of its significant contribution to the environmental improvement of Worcester, and the Green Apple Award for the Built Environment from the Green Organisation.

Red Hill Primary School was opened on April 18, 2007, to the cheers of almost 300 children, who had been studying in temporary classrooms throughout its 15-month construction.

It was one of the first schools in England - if not the first - to have a climate change impact assessment carried out from the start of the design process.

Headteacher Jane Long said: "It's been a very busy and exciting year.

"The new school has allowed us to do all sorts of different activities which we were unable to do before.

"We have altered the curriculum to take advantage of the new building."

The school, in Midhurst Close, off London Road, is packed with environmental features, including a ground source heating system that heats the building and provides hot water by drawing heat from 33 bore holes in the car park.

Proud to be here: Red Hill Primary School headteacher Jane Long, centre, with pupils, front left, Charlotte Harris and Henry Potterton, rear, from left, Jade Wildon, Jamie Szikora-Willmington, Rebecca Harris and Alex Georgiou. Picture by John Anyon. 15358701

Rainwater from half of the roof is recycled to flush the toilets, other rainwater falling on the school is channelled into swales and ponds to provide wildlife habitats and study areas, as well as to prevent flooding.

The roof of the school is covered in vegetation to provide insulation and a habitat for wildlife, and it also features solar-powered ventilation.

"It is a fantastic building," said Mrs Long. "The children are now incredibly proud to show people around and explain all of the eco features to them."

Pupils at the school are taught about how the eco features work and what benefits they have on the environment.

"Our pupils are very aware of the environment since moving into the school," Mrs Long said. "They have done lots of projects about how the different features work and why it is important to help the environment.

"It is very important to make them aware of the small steps that will be valuable in the long term."

Learning about the environment is something most schools now have at the top of the agenda, with more and more gaining Eco School status - 74 per cent of Worcestershire's schools have now achieved this.

"The environment and the need to protect it is something that is incredibly important to us," Mrs Long said. "With this new school our pupils can actually see the eco features in practice, which gives them a greater understanding."

Over the coming year the school is developing its own garden, where pupils will be able to grow fruit and vegetables and Mrs Long said she hoped pupils would also start measuring the energy efficiency of the school.

"It would be nice to actually measure how efficient the new school is, compared to the old one," she said.

"It would make a good project for the children and give them more opportunities to look at the school as more than just a building."

So what do the pupils themselves think of their first year in the new school?

Ten-year-old Charlotte Harris said: "The new school is really lovely.

"It looks much nicer and there are lots more things to do."

Jade Wildon, aged 11, said she enjoyed going to school much more since the new school was built. "I love coming to school now because it is so nice," she said. "We have an eco club where we do lots of eco activities and find out more about our school." The pupils said the school's ICT suite was now fit for the 21st Century, and the playground made break times more enjoyable.

"I really like our new playground," said 10-year-old Henry Potterton.

"There is a lot more room to play and we have lots of things we can do."

Meal times have also been given an overhaul, with healthy snacks and lunches now the order of the day.

"I really like all the healthy food that we have," said 11-year-old Rebecca Jenkins.

"There is lots of choice and it is much better for us."

So in all, it seems that the first year at the new Red Hill Primary School has been a resounding success, with both staff and pupils - plus the environment - getting so much more from the building.

ECO LATEST: WHAT OTHER COUNTY SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN DOING TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT

PUPILS and parents from Leigh and Bransford Primary School spent the Easter break constructing an "eco greenhouse".

The project was led by Andy Searle, the school's eco co-ordinator, and saw a greenhouse constructed from plastic drinks bottles. More than 1,200 bottles were used.

Construction took place over two Saturdays with 10 families cutting and washing bottles before threading them on to long bamboo canes which were then secured to a wooden frame.

Mr Searle said: "This has been a fantastic project. The whole school has pulled together to create a truly sustainable resource for the 21st Century."

The school's headteacher, Stuart Bill, added: "We are delighted at how well this project has worked.

When Mr Searle told me about his plans I never imagined that the end result would be so impressive.

"The greenhouse will mainly be used by pupils during gardening club but will also be invaluable during science investigations.

"We will also be able to use the produce to make healthy meals."

The school's pupils will now use the greenhouse to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

SCHOOLS in Worcestershire and Herefordshire have put the two counties in the top five in the national Eco-Schools league table.

Herefordshire Council is second in the table with 86 per cent of schools registered for the scheme, and Worcestershire County Council is fifth, with 74 per cent of schools registered.

Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help instil these principles into the heart of school life.

Children are the driving force behind Eco-Schools - they lead the eco-committee and help carry out an audit to assess the environmental performance of their school. Measuring and monitoring is an integral part of the Eco-Schools programme, providing schools with all the evidence they need to really shout about their environmental success.

Mary Burton, sustainability officer at Herefordshire Council, credited the success of the county to "very committed staff and pupils in schools, excellent partnership in the council and support of Jane Denny, local Eco-Schools co-ordinator."

ECO warriors from Our Lady Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Primary School in Worcester have been investigating how much waste is left over from Easter eggs.

Children were invited to bring in empty packaging after the holiday, and a mountain of nearly 500 boxes, plastic and foils, was created.

A spokesman at the school said: "They were shocked at the sight of so much rubbish from one small school, especially as many children still had more eggs at home to eat."

The rubbish will now be sorted and recycled, with foil being donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind.

8:14am Tuesday 15th April 2008

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