ENERGY SAVINGS | PARRS WOOD HIGH SCHOOL Key influencers Students at Parrs Wood High have responded to the climate emergency by making energy savings in their school buildings. Science teacher Chris Baker explains how other schools could replicate the model, which has cut annual carbon emissions by 543 tonnes and energy bills by 106,000 P arrs Wood High is a thriving, state-maintained comprehensive school in Manchester, with an extraordinary story to tell. Over the past eight years, successive members of the student sustainability team have worked tirelessly to cut annual carbon emissions by 543tC02e, resulting in annual savings of 106,000 and an improvement of two Display Energy Certificate (DEC) bands for each of the three main buildings. In that time, they have identified areas for improvement, calculated payback periods, selected contractors, secured funding, and project-managed the majority of the work. As well as cutting energy use, the students have achieved 100% recycling rates and introduced water-saving measures (their key achievements are shown in Table 1). Recently, students completed a full appraisal and costing for an LED lighting upgrade in preparation for a Salix funding bid later this year. They are currently working to eradicate single-use plastic bottles in school, with a potential reduction of 100,000 bottles per year. The school is used by Salix Finance and the Department for Education (DfE) as a national role model, and the students have given advice to the DfE, finance officers, site managers and students from other schools. Parrs Wood High has a mix of buildings, ranging in origin from the 18th to the 20th centuries, as well as a small amount of new build. The majority of schools in the UK have a similar mix of building stock. Work to upgrade and retrofit equipment at the school has been achieved with limited funding and limited technical knowledge at the outset. How Parrs Wood delivered The huge reductions in carbon have been achieved by a group of sixth-form students the CO2 team who meet at least twice a week and employ the help of younger students. They draw on the knowledge gained in lessons and through their relationships with staff. One of Parrs Woods strengths is its extremely diverse mix of students, and this is reflected in the CO2 team; its members broad range of backgrounds and interests means they approach tasks from a variety of perspectives. Each year, the CO2 team tackles at least one large sustainability issue. For each issue, they apply 10 key principles. Projects must be applied to real-world problems and the 36 April 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Apr20 pp36-38 Supp Parrs Wood energy saving.indd 36 20/03/2020 16:46