A PRIMARY school in Tavistock has put green issues firmly on its agenda with the installation of 70 solar panels on its roof.

The panels were installed at St Peter's Junior School last week and the school is hoping to recoup its costs within the next five to six years.

St Peter's paid 25% of the £90,000 scheme with grants from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and Devon County Council Green Challenge Fund making up the other 75%.

Chairman of governors Tim Jones said the school's electricity bill had been around £4,000 a year but he hoped most of the power would now be provided by the solar panels.

'It's a bit of an unknown quantity how much electricity will be produced because it depends on the light levels,' he said.

'There does not have to be strong sunshine for the panels to generate electricity. The children will be able to monitor how much is being produced at any one time by a measuring device inside the school.'

Mr Jones said St Peter's was keen to reduce its carbon footprint and had been looking at various renewable energy schemes — being at the top of a hill it was also investigating wind power.

'A lot of hard work has gone into securing these grants and as governors we were convinced of the benefits not only for saving energy and costs but also as a learning aid for the children,' he said.

'There is great excitement in the school and the children have been doing a project on solar power. Two of them even built solar-powered cars.

'It is very unusual for a school to have so many solar panels and we could not have done it without the grant.'

A spokesperson for the county council said the Green Challenge Fund was a fantastic opportunity for schools and colleges to upgrade the fabric of their buildings, contributing to the reduction of climate damaging carbon dioxide emissions, reducing fossil fuels and increasing the efficiency of their buildings.

'The fund has been developed by the council to give schools and colleges the opportunity to invest in the conservation of our environment without having to carry the full financial burden themselves,' said the spokesperson

RIGHT: Year 6 pupils Callum Sherrell and Lauren Walker study the new panels and what effect they have on the school energy use.

Picture by James Bird