Woodheys Primary School
Meadway, Sale
Cheshire, M33 4PG
t: 0161 973 4478
f: 0161 972 0023

Energy

 Solar Panel Display
 

This display panel is to be found on our main corridor at school.  It shows how much energy is being generated on an hourly basis by our solar panels.  The electricity they produce goes directly into the National Grid and we are given credits on our electricity bills.

 
 

Are we using energy and water efficiently at Woodheys?

 

This is just one of the questions which our Year 6 Energy Team ask every week as they carry out the very important job of monitoring our energy use and production!  They also read the electricity and gas meters in our basement and keep careful records, so that they can produce graphs and other data to help us to understand how much energy we are using.

 

Our water meter is harder to read, unfortunately, as it is currently located under a manhole cover in the pavement outside school. We are hoping that once our new extension is complete (building is due to start in 2010), we will have some software installed in school which will allow us instant access to our energy and water consumption via a special website.

 

 

 

The solar panel array on the roof
 

Our solar panels, pictured above, were installed some years ago and we were one of the first schools in Trafford to have them.  Half the cost was met through a Government grant and we paid the remainder from our own funds.  We felt it was really important to ´practise what we preach´ and to have a very visible sign of our commitment to sustainable energy. 

 

 

Energy and our Woodheys Labyrinth

 
 
 
 
 
(Designed by Nicholas Boult of Clarke Lambert Landscapes: 0800 096 0600 www.clarkelambertlandscapes.com)
 

 

In 2007 we won first prize nationally in the ´Sustainable Energy in Schools´ category of the internationally renowned Ashden Awards.  Our prize of £15,000 was presented to us by Al Gore, former US Vice-President and Nobel Peace Laureate.


We pledged to use the money to further educate the Woodheys community about sustainability and to share our good practice with other schools and organizations, both nationally and internationally.  The prize money went towards creating our labyrinth, which has now become a symbol of positive energy, both physical and spiritual.


At the opening ceremony, Professor David Ward from SETPOINT (an organization based at Salford University, which promotes science and engineering in schools ) dressed in role as James Prescott Joule, the 19th century physicist after whom the kilojoule is named. David and other scientists from SETPOINT have run several exciting science project days on Forces, Electricity and Light for our pupils in Key Stage 2.

 

Our bid for the Ashden Award cited the links between J P Joule and Sale, where he lived for the last 17 years of his life.  He was buried in a local cemetery in the nearby area of Brooklands.

 

Around the labyrinth garden area, we have placed information points, telling the pupils about J.P. Joule and his scientific achievements linked to energy.  Both inside and around the labyrinth itself, we have installed solar-powered water features, garden ornaments and lighting.

 


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