St Teresa’s RC Primary School in Little Lever has been crowned the winner of Bolton’s local schools’ sustainability competition, a creative initiative challenging primary schools to build model houses using recycled food and drink packaging.
The competition, which ran across seven local primary schools, culminated in a public showcase at the recent Bolton Food and Drink Festival. Festival-goers had the opportunity to view the innovative designs and cast their votes, with St Teresa’s model house receiving the most acclaim.
The winning design was created by one of St Teresa’s pupil leadership groups, who call themselves the Guardians of Creation. These young environmentalists demonstrated exceptional creativity and commitment to sustainable practices, impressing Bolton locals with their eco-friendly model house.
As a result of their victory, Watson, the headline sponsor of the Festival and the competition’s organiser, has presented the school with a £5,000 donation towards their School Improvement Plan. The school has announced plans to use this funding to secure and restore its wooded ‘forest school’ area to its former glory, providing an enhanced outdoor learning environment for students.
Jenni Willis, headteacher at St Teresa’s RC Primary School, commented: “We are delighted! This will have such a positive impact on our little family school. One of our pupil leadership groups, The Guardians of Creation, should take credit for their creativity and brilliant teamwork.
“We are grateful to Watson as we can now secure and fence our wooded Forest School area and re-resource it following vandalism. This means all of our classes can again regularly enjoy playing, working and learning together in Forest School, reap the benefits of our large outdoor areas and learn to look after our world. We hope to also offer out use of the Forest School area to local nurseries so lots of children can benefit.”
Mike Watson, director of Watson, personally visited St Teresa’s to meet the students and present the cheque. “We were so pleased to see the enthusiasm and creativity displayed by all the participating schools, especially St Teresa’s. The Guardians of Creation’s winning design truly embodies the spirit of sustainability we aimed to nurture with this competition. It’s great to see how they plan to use the prize money to further their environmental education efforts.”
Watson is the developer behind Creams Mill, Bolton, which will see 255 new-build properties for the residents of Little Lever and Bolton, as well as the regeneration of a 700-metre stretch of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. The scheme will bring part of the canal back into use for the first time in 88 years and create waterside walks for residents to enjoy.
