Press Release - A Wind Turbine for Ansford School
Press Release: A Wind Turbine for Ansford School?
Year Ten students from Ansford School at Castle Cary have been investigating the benefits of their school having its own wind turbine.
A group of students from Ansford have worked with digital media professionals to produce a short video about the benefits of their school having its own wind turbine.
The students, aged 13-14, wrote the scripts and storyboard and conducted interviews with experts under the guidance of Bristol based digital company, Science.TV.
Their first interview was with Mike Cheshire from Ecotricity, one of Britain’s largest wind turbine companies, at their wind park in Shooters Bottom.
Mike said: ““Windmills can have the greatest environmental benefit for the least environmental impact, and a windmill on-site for a school can also be a great way of raising awareness about how electricity is made, and how it’s used.”
Neil Dennison, assistant head of Ansford School, has a firm interest in green issues and wanted to give students the opportunity to explore the issues themselves.
“It is the next generation that will be affected, which is why they should be the ones asking the questions," he said.
"I approached Science.TV as their film-making workshops offer an innovative way of engaging with contemporary issues."
Bringing their findings back to Ansford school, the students interviewed their headmaster, Mr Benzie, about the possibility of the school having its own wind turbine.
He said: “If we could get planning permission we could definitely build a wind turbine. The governors and I would love to have one."
Three years ago Ansford School were denied planning permission for a fifty-five meter tall wind turbine due to its proximity to three houses.
However, Mr Benzie said: “The laws have changed in the last three years and the possibility of getting a smaller wind turbine is greater and something we’re looking into."
He added: "What’s interesting is that we thought we would have lots of people in Castle Cary against building a wind turbine but approximately eighty percent of the people we communicated with were in favour."
A student that worked on the venture said: “Working on the project was really cool.
"We learnt so much about wind turbines and how one would really benefit the school.
"We realised the importance of considering the bigger picture."
