Gloucestershire School wins national recycling competition
Soudley School in the Forest of Dean has scooped the top prize in the Recycle Week ‘Rewards for Schools’ competition.
During Recycle Week last month, people were urged to take their unwanted small electrical items to the Household Recycling Centres.
For every item brought along to the HRC, people were given a token which could be awarded to a participating school.
The photo above shows pupils and staff from Soudley School with electrical items. (Back row L-R Saron Heteyni – Head Teacher, Lucy Motson – School governor. Front row pupils L-R Freddie Ledger-Thompson, Darcy Jarrett, Ashleigh-Jade Noble, Lily Motson).
Soudley School came out overall national winners, collecting 4.5 reward tokens per pupil. Head teacher Saron Heteyni is delighted her school have won £1,000 worth of garden centre vouchers from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).
She said: “We are overjoyed – especially as we are a very small school with just 64 pupils.
“We are registered as an ‘eco-school’ and encourage our youngsters to take care of their environment.
“We have yet to decide what to do with the garden centre vouchers. We may get some chickens, create a pond area and buy a poly tunnel to grow our own vegetables.”
Cllr Stan Waddington, cabinet member for environment and waste at Gloucestershire County Council said: “Congratulations to Soudley School, it’s great achievement for them to win a national competition.
“Thank you to everyone who has recycled their unwanted electrical items. We need to continue to do this, so we can achieve our countywide target of recycling and composting at least 60 per cent of waste by 2020.”
Councillor Martin Quaile, portfolio holder for the environment at the Forest of Dean District Council said: “It is fantastic that one of our local schools has had such tremendous success in a national competition.
“The pupils, parents and friends of Soudley primary school should be truly proud of all the hard work they have put in.
“I am sure the vouchers will be put to very good use and that the pupils will gain much pleasure from however the school chooses to spend their prize.”
Other schools within Gloucestershire which received the next highest number of reward tokens per pupil will receive a £50 voucher, courtesy of May Gurney, who operate the five county council-run Household Recycling Centres.
One school from each district wins this prize:
Cranham School – Stroud District
Ellwood Primary School – Forest of Dean
Elmbridge Infants School – Gloucester City
North Cerney Primary School – Cotswold
Charlton Kings Infants School – Cheltenham
Gotherington Primary School – Tewkesbury
28 July 2010