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In January last year, Fochriw Primary School was attacked by vandals. Nearly 18 months later, the school has turned “tragedy to triumph” to win an award for their environmental work.

The school’s polytunnel, where pupils were growing daffodils and vegetables, was left ruined after the attack.

But the school decided to use it as an opportunity to redesign the school grounds, and involved its pupils throughout the process.

With £10,000 of Postcode Lottery funding, pupils worked on the redesign alongside Keep Wales Tidy, with each class taking part in different challenges, testing their literacy, numeracy and digital skills in the process.

Pupils planted hedgerows within the school grounds and led a litter clean-up campaign across their school and village.

The polytunnel was also repaired, thanks to support from the school’s Parent Teacher Association, which led a successful fundraising campaign to fund the repairs.

As a result of their efforts, the school was named regional winners in the Better Energy School Awards, with their project winning in the ‘Totally Active’ category.

The school saw off competition from schools across Wales and the west of England.

The nationwide competition, which is for school pupils aged between five and 11, aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and sustainable energy.

It is run by the Young People’s Trust for the Environment.

The school will be presented with a certificate of excellence in environmental education, as well as £500, following the award win.

Peter Littlewood, Director of the Young People’s Trust for the Environment, praised the school and said: “We have been really impressed with the great environmental work being done in challenging times.”

Fochriw Primary’s Headteacher, Sharon Pascoe, said she was “delighted” that the school’s efforts were recognised.

Mrs Pascoe said: “We set high expectations for excellence in our environmental work, promoting authentic opportunities for experiences, knowledge and skills. We are proud because this award celebrates this.”

She described the award win as a “feel-good story” and said the school turned “tragedy to triumph”.

She continued: “Overcoming the destruction that happened shows the resilience of our whole school community. I’d like to thank everyone who helped contribute to our success – we couldn’t have done it without the team effort.”