Part of Wimborne Academy Trust (WAT), the east Dorset school won the distinction for efforts prior to the coronavirus lockdown.

Their campaign, led by the school’s Team Eco, saw more than 7,000 crisp packets recycled and milk cartons, straws and stationery were also collected for re-use. Children also collected plastic drinks bottles and filled 300 of them with used plastic, making ‘bricks’.

Being awarded the Green Flag is the highest level a school can achieve in the global Eco-Schools programme being the ‘gold standard’ for environmental action and learning.

Year 1 teacher Tracey Legge, who led the school’s green machine, said, “Usually Eco-School will send someone down to judge whether you deserve the Green Flag.

“We uploaded all our evidence and details of our initiatives through a portal and also included an interview with one of our students who was only six.

“Collecting and making the plastic bricks really helped educate the children about how much waste there is.

“When the lockdown is over, we will use them to make seats in our reading area.

“We have also had assemblies from various people about recycling and environmental issues as well as many other initiatives.

“Everything that can be recycled is recycled and we have a team that goes around the school turning lights off when they aren’t needed.

“From Nursery to Year 4, our children are better informed about these issues.”

Liz West, CEO of WAT, said, “This programme has been excellent for all our students – and the staff.

“These are lessons that will live with us all for life and help make our communities cleaner and greener.”