SOLAR panels have been installed at a village school as part of its Eco-School plan.

The panels were installed at Bretforton First School, near Evesham, thanks to funding from Worcestershire County Council's Spend to Save scheme.

Ayse Moseley, the school's headteacher said: "As an Eco Mentor School for this district, sustainable energy has been a particular interest.

"It was lovely to see the children’s faces as they walked into school and saw the panels.

"With the special display, the children can now see exactly how much energy is being produced by the panels and how much energy is being used in school.

"Our eco-committee have some interesting challenges planned to help us reduce our energy usage and the new equipment will play a key part in monitoring this.

"Teaching children to be responsible for the environment is key to the future of our planet and we are proud to be contributing to this."

The 16 panel four kWp solar PV array reduces the carbon footprint of the school by 1,921 kg carbon dioxide a year.

The energy saved and income generated through the Feed in Tariff equates to just over £1,000 per year with the panels paying for themselves in just under nine years.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: "We're committed to doing everything we can in the county to reduce carbon emissions and looking after our environment and this project is yet another fantastic example of that.

"The county council project manage and implement these schemes as not only are they good for the environment and pupils at the school, they also make good financial sense."

Schools interested in installing solar panels or other energy saving initiatives can visit worcestershire.gov.uk/spendtosave for more details or email energy@worcestershire.gov.uk.