SETTING an example in environmental terms is what a local primary school is hoping to do with the help of a £7,000 grant from the Government.

The Clinton School at Merton is one of 100 schools in the country, and the only one locally, to be awarded funds to install solar panels on its site.

But the 68-pupil school, which is involved in a major landscaping project to make it uniquely attractive and environmentally interesting, needs to raise a further £4,000 to secure the grant.

Teacher Jeff Adams hopes the community will help: 'We need to find this money because the solar panels have to be part-funded by ourselves, so if anyone in the community would like to help us with funding we would love to hear from them.'

He said he believed the school had been successful in gaining the grant because it had a lot of projects already in the pipeline such as a wind-generated pump for the waterfall, a system for recycling rainwater to flush the toilets and an organic garden.

'We are redeveloping the whole site to create a safe play area and make the approach to school more attractive and a more pleasant area to be in,' said Mr Adams.

'It is something we are planning to do in stages over the next three or four years and we are working with an educational landscape architect.'

Three hundred and fifty trees have been planted around the school which have been donated by the Clinton Estates and the organic garden has been constructed by Shebbear Young Farmers.

Other expertise and donations have come from WWB, the local clayworks company, Clinton Sawmills and a parent who happens to be a thatcher and is making a splendid job of thatching the shelter in the garden.

The next stage of the plan is to construct outdoor classrooms with pergola effects and walkways.

'We hope to be working with Rosemoor Gardens to develop the garden area,' added Mr Adams.

The solar project, which will involve a porchway of solar panels on one of the south facing classrooms, includes a computer for showing read-outs of the energy produced.

The teacher said this part of the whole scheme was more educational than anything else.

'We will be producing energy which will be used in school but the idea behind it is showing people the way forward.

'We hope at a later stage people will see this idea and take it on. We will be showing the children that natural energy can be used to power things and they can apply this knowledge at home and further on in their education.'

Mr Adams said everyone the school had contacted to help in the project had come up trumps.

'Any more help we can get will be fantastic,' he said.

Contact Mr Adams or headteacher Hilary Hunkin on 01805 603357 if you can donate funds or offer expertise.