School’s green dream realised

Fairview School in Perth has won a national competition to turn the school’s green dream into a reality as pupils and staff are celebrating being awarded £10,000 funding for their school garden.

Fairview School, Perth and Kinross’ school for children and young people with complex additional support needs, has a “big green dream” to install a solar panel in their new garden shed, which will become the hub of its community garden.

Pupils have worked hard to create the garden and plan to use the funding to add solar-powered lighting, power tools for woodwork classes, and a water fountain to the shed. This will become part of lessons on how electricity works and how renewable energy is generated.

The funding was awarded by the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust, an independent charity which helps community renewable energy projects get off the ground. The pupils at Fairview School competed against schools across the UK to win the prize.

Leigh Verdot, headteacher at Fairview School, said: “We’re over the moon to have won the Big Green Dream competition.

“We can’t wait to put this funding to good use by getting equipment that generates renewable energy to benefit the whole school.”

Aaron Duncan, an S1 pupil at Fairview School, added: “I’m really excited. I love gardening and woodwork so it will be great having the new garden shed powered by the sun.”