YOUNG eco warriors have become the first in York to win an international green flag award for their primary school.

Lakeside Primary School, in Clifton Moor, was inspected by an official from the charity Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS) before being awarded the title.

Members of the school’s eco club gave him a guided tour of the school and answered questions about their latest recycling project.

More than 40,000 schools from 46 different countries across the world, including Morocco, South Africa and France, have signed up to the Eco Schools programme.

The aim of the scheme is to bring environmental issues into everyday school life to make young people more aware of the role they can play in protecting the planet.

Each school is working to achieve one of three levels of accreditation – bronze, silver and the top green flag award.

Teacher Janette Hill, who runs the eco club at Lakeside Primary School, said: “Our children have been working towards this for three years and we’re thrilled to become the first primary school in York to achieve the green flag.”

The school has a long tradition of green thinking and scored a victory earlier this year after putting pressure on City of York Council to offer better recycling facilities to schools.

Pupils caused a stir by bagging up all their school’s kitchen waste from one week to show council officers just how much waste one school created.

The stunt shamed the council into action and in January officers extended the range of materials that schools can recycle, to include paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and cans/tins. Previously, only paper collections were available.

Geoff Derham, the council’s head of waste services, said: “It has been a pleasure working with the staff and pupils at Lakeside School.

“They fully deserve the recognition that this award has given them and it is a fitting reward for all their hard work.

“The council is very pleased for the school and that it has been able to help with its achievements.”

The school’s eco club involves two pupils from each class and is so popular there is a waiting list to join.

Having achieved the Eco Schools’ silver award in June 2007, pupils drew up a new action plan in September 2007 to achieve the green flag award. Their mission was to reduce the amount of waste in the school.

Staff now reduce the size of photocopies, use both sides of paper and reuse any paper that has only been printed on one side.

Children no longer start a new page every time they begin a new piece of work and backing paper from displays is reused by the reception classes.

The gardening club now reuses large kitchen tins as plants pots, while staff in the school kitchen collect yoghurt pots for reusing as glue pots and put their compostable waste into the school’s compost bins.

The school will keep its green flag status for two years before it must reapply.

During that time, pupils will work towards a new eco project – this time to significantly reduce the energy bills for its school. Watch this space.