A SCHOOL has received a special award in recognition of work to help protect the environment.

The Olive School, Blackburn has been awarded ‘green flag’ status and was officially recognised as an ‘eco-school’.

Eco-Schools is a global programme which engages 19.5 million children across 67 countries, making it the largest educational programme on the planet.

For over 25 years, Eco-Schools has been working to help children to drive change and improve their environmental awareness in order to achieve the international Eco-Schools Green Flag.

The award for The Olive School, Blackburn comes after more than a year’s worth of work at the school to take action against global warming and to introduce measures to promote environmental sustainability. Alongside the green flag award, the school was also awarded bronze and silver awards by Eco Schools in recognition of staff and pupils’ eco-credentials.

The school teamed up with sustainable clothing brand, Frugi, which provided pupils with a 10-day eco challenge to complete at home.

Smeena Riaz, Principal of The Olive School, Blackburn, said: “We wanted to take part in the Eco Schools challenge as part of a drive to help our pupils understand that it is all of our responsibility to take care of the environment.

“As a school we work to promote the importance of sustainability and introduce measures to help us all work as one to protect the environment.”

Pupils devised a range of sustainable improvements including designing their own eco playground, a healthy eating menu, researching renewable energy sources and designing their own t-shirts to promote the theme of protecting the planet.

The pupils also nominated an eco-warrior from each class to bring forward suggestions and update their class on any changes. The eco warriors formed a litter picking team to ensure school grounds were a place where wildlife could thrive.

As part of the challenge, environmentally conscious pupils also planted 315 trees, donated by the Woodland Trust, around school grounds to encourage biodiversity.

Staff at the school encouraged pupils to explore their natural environment and take an interest in the wildlife around them by taking part in the RSPB’s The Big Schools' Birdwatch and by carrying out a bug hunt.