Hagbourne C of E Primary School was the first primary school in Oxfordshire to achieve an Eco Schools award, from ENCAMS, the national environment charity behind the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. Hagbourne School is committed to environmental awareness and action, from making and using its own wind turbine to creating an allotment area in the school grounds to help supply home-grown vegetables for its school meals.
Headmaster, Richard Jones, says: ‘We were lucky, some years ago, to welcome an outreach worker from the local Northmoor Trust to teach us about sustainability. Since then the environment has remained an integral part of our curriculum.
As well as building the turbine, which creates 24v of electricity for the school’s use, there are solar panels which help heat the school swimming pool.
Pupils have designed a metering system to learn what it means when an amp of electricity is generated, and they understand the benefits of simple actions such as switching off lights when you leave a room, and shutting doors to keep heat in, as well as the need to find alternative, sustainable forms of energy for the future.
Richard says: ‘I think, they probably go home and nag their parents to do the same!’
‘In the main, parents have been very supportive of our environmental aims and projects.’
A walking bus to and from the school each day is another idea that is proving a success, giving the children exercise as well as reducing car use.
More information about Hagbourne School’s eco-initiatives can be found on their website: www.hagbourne.oxon.schuk/ecotastic/
For information about ENCAMS Eco Schools programme log on to www.globalactionplan.org.uk
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