Over the Easter holidays, St. John’s Church of England Primary School in Midsomer Norton had solar panels installed as part of the school’s drive to promote sustainability and reduce its carbon footprint.

According to the school’s headteacher, Mrs West-Gaul, the school had been considering installing solar panels for a while, however, it was the previous Year 6 cohort who gave the campaign a boost by writing persuasive letters to the Midsomer Norton Partnership Trust about the benefits of renewable solar energy, both in terms of cost-cutting and reducing the rate of climate change.

The solar panels at St. John’s have been installed by Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE), who recently visited the school again to discuss sustainability with the School Council. In total, 93 solar panels have been installed, which will cater towards 28.4% of the school’s annual energy needs. Furthermore, energy that is not used during school hours is being exported back to the grid for use elsewhere.

In addition to this vital switch towards renewable energy, the school community at St. John’s has become increasingly active in reducing energy consumption. They use the Energy Sparks website to monitor their weekly energy consumption and the School Council have developed a colour-coded system to identify which equipment can be switched off when not in use. They have also introduced a ‘power-down’ afternoon, whereby all non-essential electronics are turned off at the start of lunch time on Friday and are not turned on again until school opens on Monday morning.