A WEYMOUTH school is flagging up its green credentials after scooping a national award.

All Saints School has become only the second in Dorset to receive an Eco School Green Flag award from the environmental campaigning group Encams.

It recognises the work the school is doing to become more sustainable.

War on Waste teaching co-ordinator Jane Burnet said: “We registered with the awarding body two years ago and were immediately given the silver flag because we had already met the necessary criteria for that level.

“Since then we have been working towards the Green Flag award and winning it has been recognition of the sustained campaign, run by the school’s War on Waste team.”

She said saving energy by encouraging pupils to turn off lights and computers had been at the forefront, a measure that had cut the energy bill by 11 per cent.

Students have also been raising awareness about the impact climate change is having on people in poor countries, with a focus on Ghana as the school has established a link with a school there.

Pupils are developing an understanding of the link between their lifestyle choices, the contribution these make to global warming and the impact this has on the ability of people in places like Ghana to produce food.

Mrs Burnet added: “The project has acted as a cohesive force, giving everyone in the school a shared target to reach and now to celebrate attaining.

“More importantly, we believe the pupils are taking the green message home.

“The Green Flag is more than simply about reducing the school’s carbon footprint – we hope the scheme reduces the carbon footprint of the whole school community, beyond the school gates.”

Dorset County Council wants all schools to fly the Green Flag by 2012 and All Saints has been asked to act as a lead school.