WITH the environment and climate change high on the agenda this month with the looming summit in Paris, this week I decided to pay a visit to the greenest school in town.

Sustainability, recycling and the environment are high on the priorities of all those at Randwick Primary School.

Amazingly, the school recently won the national Eco-Schools Award for the third time in a row, making it one of, if not the most environmentally-focused schools in the UK.

Keen to see what made Randwick’s ethos so successful, I visited last week to catch a glimpse of day to day learning.

Situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Randwick is surrounded by rolling green fields, woodland and a church year.

Tearing yourself away from this incredible view, one of the first things so see entering the school is the Green Flag – the prize given to the winner of the eco award.

You can tell immediately from this just how proud the whole school are of their achievement, from the staff, the pupils and the parents as well.

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I spoke to deputy head and eco organiser Anne Milston, who was fresh from bringing the pupils back from a picnic.

“The environment is so deeply imbedded in the school’s ethos, it’s been that way for as long as I can remember,” said Anne, who has worked at Randwick for 13 years.

“The thing about our award is that it is completely child-led. Staff don’t have any real say or action in the school’s eco focus.”

Pupils, she tells me, are completely in charge of collecting all the rubbish, dealing with the recycling, and turning off the energy efficient lights which are installed throughout the school.

In every classroom there are different recycling bins, which the children monitor and deal with every day on a rota.

They are also responsible for dealing with the compost, which is used to grow fruit trees in the school’s outdoor woodland area.

This beautiful outdoor space was partially designed by pupils – everything from the garden, the pond and the chicken coup was influenced by the students.

You can see that the children have control and influence over every part of this wonderful learning environment.

“Everyone chips in and does their bit, the kids really love it,” explained Mrs Milston. “The environment is at the heart of everything we do, it’s a self-perpetuating idea.

“There is a democratically elected eco-committee made up for eight pupils across the year groups. Pupils in each year hand down knowledge to the year below them.

“We’ve had these policies for so many years, and it keeps getting passed down through the school generations.”

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As well as that all the pupils are taught to have a huge respect for the natural world. When reasonable it is included in lessons from geography and science, to art and English.

“We’re so lucky to have access to the countryside and nature we do here, so we try and make the most of it,” she said.

“The school grounds are home to a huge variety of animals and insects. We have our chickens obviously, but then there are other wild animals such as buzzards, foxes, badgers and deer.”

This is a big focus for the school is the nature club, which has been a key part of Randwick’s extracurricular activities for more than 20 years.

Pupils who take part will learn to identify British wildlife, learn different species of trees, rocks and plants, as well as build bird boxes and insect homes for the garden.

“Everyone here is so proud of our school,” added Anne. “It’s such a fantastic place for the kids to learn and develop.

“I think the environment is such an important thing to grow up having an appreciation and respect for.

“It’s amazing to see all our pupils have respect for the beautiful place in which they live.”