THE first of many eco-friendly features was fitted to a new school near Weston last month in a bid to achieve a net zero status site. 

Students at Winterstoke Hundred Academy (WHA), in Haywood Village, helped to fit the first solar panel on the school's extension currently under construction at the Locking Parklands development. 

A ceremony was held on the rooftop where the school's principal, councillors and others met to mark the occasion.

Work started on the site, adjacent to the A371, in February and plans to be environmentally sustainable and carbon neutral by the time it welcomes 900 students next year.

Winterstoke Hundred - a member of the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) - opened in 2020 at the site of the former Weston College building in The Runway, and currently houses a secondary school and sixth form for students aged 11 to 19.

The two sites will be located less than a mile apart when complete and the existing school building is to then primarily cater for sixth form students.

Bristol-based CLF also operates nearby Hans Price Academy and Haywood Village Academy in Weston. 

"There's a real sense of excitement in school and in our community as the building now takes shape," principal Ian Garforth said.

"The students have been very excited to look around the building and find out more about how it's been designed and built to the highest environmental standards."

The expansion is funded through Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund and is being constructed by Kier Construction Western & Wales.

It's hoped the school, which will feature on-site energy generation, a recycling centre and a sustainability lab, will support North Somerset Council’s commitment to make the district carbon neutral by the year 2030.

The council's executive member for children and young people, Cllr Catherine Gibbons, said: “The expansion raises the bar for construction projects in our area, meeting top standards for sustainability as we work to make North Somerset an open, greener and fairer place with opportunities for all.

“Not only is this new building an investment in future learning, it's an investment in our environment, with the first solar panel now fitted to the roof symbolic of our continued commitment to net zero.”

New facilities at the site include sports pitches that will be available for the local community too, as well as bike storage and routes to school to encourage walking, cycling and sustainable travel.