School’s Green Credentials Pay Off With Award

A VILLAGE school’s enthusiasm for recycling has helped it land an award in an environmental competition.Pupils and staff at Aycliffe Village Primary School run several recycling schemes.The schemes have included such campaigns as collecting clothing for a charity shop, telephone directories for a hospice and recycling printer cartridges and other equipment.Other environmental initiatives at the school include encouraging children to walk between home and school when it is safe, which helps to reduce the number of car journeys.Technology company 3M, which has a plant on nearby Aycliffe Industrial Estate, supported the initiative by donating high- visibility vests to pupils so that they can be seen during the dark winter months.The school’s latest scheme – to create an organic vegetable garden where pupils can learn to grow their own produce – was boosted when it landed the 500 first prize in a 3M environmental competition.Headteacher Jo Clarke said: “The children are delighted we have won the competition.”They are very conscious of the importance of protecting the environment and this is a wonderful reward for all their efforts.”Martyn Harvey, of the site’s environmental team, which judged the competition, said: “The school has been really successful in bringing the conservation message home to the pupils and we were knocked out with their enthusiasm.”

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