Bright sparks come up with green ideas

BRIGHT sparks from Rosemary Musker High School in Thetford had a light bulb moment on Friday when they took part in an energy saving scheme.

BRIGHT sparks from Rosemary Musker High School in Thetford had a light bulb moment on Friday when they took part in an energy saving scheme.

The pupils and staff met with Emily Goldsmith of the National Trust to feedback their ideas of how they can go greener and save energy.

It was part of an initiative they followed earlier this year, called Energy Futures, where the school saved as much energy as possible in order to be with �10,000 towards an energy saving device.

The Energy Futures programme is a partnership between The National Trust and Norfolk County Council's Children's Services. The County Council has funded the project, enabling all Norfolk schools to make a contribution to combating climate change, playing a part in the council's plans for a 25pc reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2013.

When the results came in, it turned out that the students had managed to save a massive 16pc off the school's electricity bill and 39pc off the gas bill. The group - currently nicknamed the Waste Watchers - brought about a change in student and staff behaviour by conducting assemblies, carrying out spot-checks and rewarding good energy-saving behaviour, making T-shirts and badges and displaying stickers and posters around the school.

The aim of Friday's meeting was to question students on ways to keep the initiative going, sustain the momentum of their success and influence a long-term positive change for the future. A follow-up meeting was arranged for September to enable autumn targets to be agreed and to allow the students to make plans to keep up their fabulous efforts so far.

Emily Goldsmith said: “Rosemary Musker has been different from other high schools in Norfolk in that the students have been much more creative in their campaign approach.”