North Tyneside pupils win green award

Pupils at St Bernadette's Primary School in Wallsend won the Keep Britain Tidy's eco schools 'Green Flag' award after putting measures in place to be more environmentally friendly. Students decided on a number of green measures, including growing their own vegetables, increasing recycling efforts and creating posters about how to save energy. Teacher June Gibbons is St Bernadette's Primary School's eco co-ordinator. She said: "This is a wonderful achievement for our school. We are proud of the efforts of our children who have worked with enthusiasm to help gain this prestigious award. "As a result, they have developed a mature and responsible attitude towards sustainability and caring for our school environment." Cllr Ed Hodson, cabinet member for the Environment, added: "All of our schools have a very important role to play in helping North Tyneside address the challenges of sustainability, climate change and carbon reduction. "By achieving green flag status, pupils at St Bernadette's Primary School have recognised the potential of sustainable development to transform the learning experiences and its outcomes, whilst at the same time they have improved school's environmental performance." The school is now the fifth in the borough to achieve the international award.