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At the top of green school league
QUEEN Elizabeth II High School continues to top the Island's green school league table with news that it has won a £5,000 prize in the EDF Energy Awards for Greener Schools — a competition designed to celebrate inspirational schools, teachers and students across the British Isles.
The prize will be used to help the school become even more ecologically sustainable.
The school gained gold medals for its eco projects: Better off by Bike, Goodbye Standby, Flushed with Success and Will Wind Work?
A silver medal was awarded for Lose your Bottle.
Referring to the Will Wind Work? project, head of lifeskills Lesley Sleight said: 'We were very grateful for the help given by Neil Young from the meteorological office who kindly spent a day with year 7 (aged 11-12) students measuring and recording wind speeds on the school grounds.
'The students discovered that the school was ideally situated to have a wind turbine'.
The eco projects were undertaken by students aged 11 to 14. They enjoyed writing about their work on the www.jointhepod.org website where the school's project work and photo gallery can be viewed.
They were involved in a variety of projects that included various audits, making switch off signs for classrooms and putting 'save a flush' bags in the cisterns of toilets.
Students conducted taste tests on tap and bottled water and started a campaign to cut down on the use of the latter.
Others measured usage of appliances using a watt meter.
Students made Power Point presentations and gave assemblies to their peers to try to influence their attitudes on energy use and green issues.
Students are now growing their own produce in the school greenhouse and have introduced a composting scheme into the kitchens.
They also have a pilot project with a mobile hen coop.
Other projects included constructing the school emblem of a Viking Ship out of waste metal and making planters to green up areas of the school quadrangle. The school was also involved in the Big Tidy Up and Green Day.
Ms Sleight said: 'To be considered the most inspirational secondary school is a tremendous achievement. Staff, pupils and volunteers have worked hard at promoting environmentally friendly activities. We were able to undertake many of these projects thanks largely to the HSBC Environmental Award.'
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Weather for Isle of Man
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South west
