Kingsmead Primary School5 May 2010
In 2003, Cheshire County Council began planning Kingsmead Primary School as a model of sustainable construction.
We are proud to be the first school in Cheshire to have been designed and built around an ethos of sustainability and consideration for the environment.
Catriona Stewart, Head teacher
Since opening the school community has won Eco-Schools Bronze and Silver awards. And in 2008 they won their Green Flag award - showing it's not just the building that's green, but the people too.
We gained the award because children, staff, governors and parents demonstrated ongoing commitment to being more sustainable.
Catriona Stewart, Head teacher
The people
Environment and sustainable development are part of the school's every day curriculum. Staff and students have managed to lower their energy consumption each year, despite adding new ICT equipment.
They have also established:
Vegetable garden - Wildlife area - used as an outdoor classroom
- Team of recycling officers
- a Re-use Uniform Shop to donate or buy second-hand uniforms.
How they get to school is just as important. Thanks to an ambitious travel plan 75% of pupils now walk to school instead of grabbing a lift.
The children put a lot of thought into sustainable living.
Catriona Stewart, Head teacher
The building
The school, which opened in 2004, is a curved, wooden north-facing arc.
There are solar panels, rainwater collection systems for flushing toilets, and a bio-mass boiler heating system.
The building is so intelligent it can close windows when it rains... and draw blinds against the glare of the sun.
Times Educational Supplement, 9/11/2004
The workings of the building are incorporated into lessons. Classroom computers show how conditions are being maintained, and rainwater trickles through transparent pipes in the corridor.
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