Helsby High School has welcomed its share of a funding package allocated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to help promote the use of sustainable energy sources in public sector buildings.

On March 15, Cheshire West and Chester Council company, Qwest, announced that it had secured £5,836,172 from BEIS to invest in energy efficient heat decarbonisation measures across the borough.

Helsby High School already has a long-standing sustainable energy policy, which has developed from general waste management, recycling and plastic reduction efforts to the fitting of solar panels with the help of CWAC.

In 2016, the school also used a Spend to Save scheme to install LED lighting in every room.

"As well as being more sustainable, LED lighting is better for the students because it provides a better, more consistent level of light," said School Governor Andrew Wheeler.

"So, what started as an energy saving measure has the additional benefit of improving the educational environment we offer our pupils."

With the help of the new BEIS funding, Helsby High School is hoping to invest in hybrid air source heat pumps, which extract heat from the air outside the building, using it to keep the inside warm.

The heat pumps would reduce the school's reliance on its traditional oil-fired boilers, so continuing the move away from non-renewable fossil fuels.

Helsby High School is also looking at introducing more solar voltaic panels to the building's roof.

Other local schools set to benefit from the BEIS grant include Ellesmere Port Catholic High, Deebank Primary and Greenbank Primary Schools.