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Solarised!

21/ 3/2008

SOLAR panels are set to help pupils shine at one Cheetham school.

Twenty-four of the energy-saving slabs have been installed on the roof of St Chad's RC Primary in Cheetham with funding from the Co-op Group's Green Energy for School's scheme and the government.

The school is one of 100 to receive the panels as part of the £1 million project after being nominated by a member of Co-op staff.

The £20,000 photovoltaic panels, installed by SolarCentury, will generate around 3,300 kWh of electricity each year, enough to power a school computer for 33,000 hours.

A monitoring device will tell pupils how much energy is being generated and how much carbon dioxide they are saving.

Vince Kinsey, a resource manager for the Manchester-based Co-operative Bank, nominated the school.

He said: "The group is trying to spread the environment message. This is an inner-city school that wouldn't have been able to afford this on its own but I believe they deserve it."

John Travis, headteacher, said: "The children are really enthused about the panels and are perhaps more switched on than a lot of grown ups are about renewable energy.

"The parents think it's a good improvement. One of them even asked me how they could get hold of some panels for their own house.

"It's been a great boost to the school and helped raise the profile of the improvements we're making here.".

Pupil Harry O'Hagan, eight, added: "We don't have to use power from the power stations which put too much carbon dioxide in the air and is bad for our world".

Click on the video window for Channel M's report ...