A HEADTEACHER is celebrating after her school was given permission to become the first in Cumbria to install a wind turbine and solar panels.

Jeni Boothman, headteacher at Pennington School, near Ulverston, believes the additions will prove priceless in educating the pupils in how electricity works and how important sustainable energy is to their future lives.

“We have had a long fight to get this but we were victorious in the end. We are really please about it and it’s a really exciting project,” said Mrs Boothman.

The scheme will cost £50,000 and Elizabeth Bruce, a parent of a school pupil, put together a successful bid to receive grant funding for the 15 metre high mast, which is capable of producing 6kw of power, and the panels, which will sit on top of the junior building and will create 3kw.

“The main reason we did this is to provide an educational resource for children. A meter will be put in each of the six classrooms so the children can read it, and it will help us to teach them about sustainability.”

The application was approved by Cumbria County Council despite objections from local residents.