Green school 'one of best in country'

CHRIST Church Primary School, Chadderton

A CHADDERTON primary school has been named among the top 10 eco-schools in the country.

And Christ Church C of E Junior and Infant School is now taking its environmental commitment overseas by twinning with a school in Malta.

Christ Church has been an eco-school for almost 18 years and during that time has been awarded six green flags, demonstrating its commitment to a greener, improved environment.

The school is also an Eco Legacy Ambassador School - one of only a handful in the country. Teaching assistant Lisa Jeffreys said as an Eco Ambassador School, Christ Church understands the importance of empowering its pupils to know that they can help make the changes the world needs to be more sustainable. Eco-schools Ambassadors are leaders in extending the ethos of eco-schools far beyond the school gates, interacting with the local community, nationally with the eco-schools network, along with sharing knowledge, information and advice with other schools.

The school has a strong, committed council of about 16 eco warriors from reception to year six who meet regularly, hold assemblies and go around the classrooms getting the views of pupils about changes that could be made to further improve the school environment.

Pupils receive a weekly eco lesson specifically dedicated to learning about eco elements, from biodiversity to the importance of recycling. Classrooms are fitted with low energy LED lighting and the school grounds have been greatly improved over the years and now include two outdoor classrooms where children are taught.

Children recently planted 30 silver birch trees in the grounds which were donated by the National Trust. Each class plants their own vegetables or flowers and last year vegetables were blessed at harvest festival then sent to local food banks.

Children also work with the community and recently teamed up with the community support officers to do a big clean up operation at the nearby Crossley estate

Mrs Jeffreys said that being twinned with a school in Malta will allow the children to share their work and talk to one another by using Skype. Christ Church pupils are focusing on healthy living at the moment but will learn about what is considered a priority in Malta too and how the children there work towards making the environment better.

She said: "We are delighted to be named in the top 10 eco schools. We have worked really hard over the years. The children's attitude to improving the environment is great and they are very much involved with the local community. Over the years we have made some big changes to the school grounds and the children have played a huge part in this."

Eco-Schools is a global programme engaging millions of children across 64 countries, making it the largest schools programme in the world. For more than 20 years eco-schools has been empowering children to drive change and improve their environmental awareness through the same simple seven-step process that has been used successfully across the world.

Eco-schools improves pupils' skills, raises environmental awareness, improves the school environment and also creates financial savings for schools.