A BRADFORD on Avon school which raised nearly £18,000 for the installation of solar panels is now calling on Wiltshire schools to take similar action on climate change.

Fitzmaurice Primary raised the money last year through community fundraisers and they were one of 65 schools across England and Wales to have been part of the Solar Schools project, run by climate change charity 10:10.

The year-long pledge sees schools try to lower their carbon footprint by crowd funding for solar panels with the support of 10:10.

The school installed an 11kWp rig and will now save on average of 5.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to 33 double decker buses, which helped move them ever closer to their EcoSchools Green Flag award.

Richard Craft, a team fundraiser at Fitzmaurice, said: “Different generations came together and people became so immersed in Solar Schools that they wanted to sponsor us even after we’d hit our £16,000 target.

“The brilliant thing was that all the fundraising activities were great fun and the whole school community got involved.”

Applications for the 2015-16 cohort of Solar Schools is currently open, and schools have until next Wednesday (June 3) to submit their application for the year-long pledge.

For more information, visit www.solarschools.org.uk.