AN eco-friendly primary school has won an award for its energy efficiency.Beaumont Community Primary School collected the top prize in the education category at the National Energy Efficiency Awards earlier this month.

AN eco-friendly primary school has won an award for its energy efficiency.

Beaumont Community Primary School collected the top prize in the education category at the National Energy Efficiency Awards earlier this month.

The school, in Durant Road, Hadleigh, opened in 2003 and has a number of unique ways of saving energy.

A wind turbine next to the school field generates up to 6kw of electricity which is enough, on an average day, to run all the computers in the ICT suite.

A further 1kw of electricity is produced by solar panels on a specially sloped part of the roof producing enough power to run the lights in two classrooms.

When more electricity is generated than the school needs, the surplus is used to heat large water tanks in the boiler room which feed the under floor heating system. Any excess is sold back to the national grid.

These measures reduce the school's CO2 emissions by around eight tonnes per year compared to a conventional school of the same size.

Headmistress, Stella Burton, said: "This is how schools should be. The pupils have an enthusiasm for energy efficiency and sustainability.

“When they are adults, they'll be able to use the knowledge they've gained here in a positive way."

Judges said about the winning entry: "This is a wonderful example of how a school can use its buildings to inspire its children and the wider community in conserving our precious environment. One day all schools will be like this."