Solar Panels
Solar Panels Installed
As part of Freshford School’s efforts to become more sustainable, in February 2020 we installed 22 solar panels on the rear roof.
After months of planning and negotiations with the local authority we secured planning permission and then faced the mammoth task of raising the £10.5k needed to complete the project. Thanks to the incredible generosity of local families, charities and businesses, amazingly we reached our target within four months.
The project would not have been possible without the generously donated expertise of Nick Spicer of Your Eco and Nick Tomlinson of Tonic Architecture who saw the project through from the early design and planning stages to completion. Also, a huge thanks to Sarah Young, James Sibson, Emma Heatley-Adams and Claudia Towner for their invaluable help and support throughout the process.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Freshford Mill – An exclusive development of country homes
Cobalt Trust (Stephen and Gitte Dawson)
FLECS (Freshford & Limpley Stoke Energy Community Shares)
BEAM Development Ltd
Wild Things Publishing
LUC
The Galleries Shop & Cafe and their customers
Gemma Hardy, Aspire Leadership Development
Walters Developments
Bath Stone Group
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Ben, Lisa, Henry & Edwin Rodd
The Scotland family (Katie, George, Poppy & Mabel)
The Dougall family
The Ford family
George, Nick, Albert & Eliza Tomlinson
Delilah & Georgina Johns
The Whitbread family (Martin, Jemma, William & Florrie)
The Taylor family
Charlie & Annabelle Ellen
The Heatley-Adams family
The Allen family
Thank you also to the Freshford school community for donations received at the 2019 Winter Fayre.
It is hoped the panels will generate around 6,200 kWh of energy per year, saving the school around £900 per year on energy bills and 22 tonnes of carbon over ten years. The installation will also act as an important learning resource for the pupils:
“As a learning community dedicated to children we have a moral imperative and a duty to do everything that we can to minimise the environmental impact of our infrastructure. In this role it is also our duty to model considerate and respectful behaviours and decision making on the short and the long term.
Solar panels will provide a powerful example and a constant reminder of our doing both, for current and future generations, and will provide data on a daily basis defining the energy generated, costs saved and spending opportunities gained, promoting examination of other savings and efficiencies that might be possible in the day to day operation of the school.
The children will be deepening their knowledge and understanding of energy measurement, data handling and the use and interpretation of tables and graphs – all crucial learning for their future independence and responsible citizenship.”
Andrew Wishart, Headteacher