Cospicua’s St Francis Primary School has made its students and teachers proud by placing first in an EU competition aimed at promoting energy efficiency, beating hundreds of other schools to the top spot.

“U4Energy” was the first pan-European school competition on energy efficiency to be organised by the European Commission.

The school’s headmistress, Sr Mary Josephine Zammit, and teacher Lydia Gauci – the brains behind the project – were flown to Brussels to be presented with the award by Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger.

The Maltese project aimed at raising awareness on energy management and climate change among the students and the community. It involved 490 students, 40 teachers, 930 parents as well as the Cospicua community.

Inside the school, old equipment such as fluorescent tubes and computer monitors have been replaced by modern, more efficient ones. New teaching lessons and materials have been organised by students themselves, and stickers have been placed throughout the school to support the adoption of an energy-efficient behaviour as part of day-to-day school life.

This includes switching off lights when not in use, checking dripping water taps and giving priority to natural over electric light.

Students aged seven and eight have also taken it on themselves to check the electricity meters to gauge their progress and ensure waste is minimised.

Simultaneously, a Saving Energy campaign targeted school staff, students and their families. Parents have also been involved in developing an energy audit, designed to measure consumption both in school and at home.

Among the initiatives organised to involve the community, the school made contacts with media and local politicians, set up a waste management centre and planted a lot of trees.