Lincs: Schools across the county will turn off the lights for the Switch-off Challenge

In addition to the lights, schools will also be turning off computers, interactive white boards and all non-essential electrics for the whole day.

This is a bid to get schools thinking about different ways to save energy.

Each participating school will take two meter readings during the challenge to compare to readings taken on a normal day.

The county council’s Schools Collaboration on Resource Efficiency (SCoRE) team, which is running the challenge, will collate the results.

Prizes will be given to the three schools that make the biggest reductions.

SCoRE project officer Emily Neville said: “The switch-off challenge is a great way to get teachers and pupils thinking about their energy use, and what simple changes they can make to reduce their consumption.”

“Utility bills form a significant part of a school’s controllable budget, so using energy more wisely could save money as well as reducing the building’s carbon emissions.”

“Previous switch-off days have seen schools reduce their energy use by up to 58 per cent compared to a normal day, and we’re hoping everyone will be able to reduce it by about 50 per cent this November.”

SCoRE forms part of Lincs County Council’s carbon management plan.

The council aims to reduce emissions by 22% by 2018 and SCoRE’s work with schools is profiled to form 65 per centof this target.

If you want to get involved it’s not too late to get signed up for the challenge.

All you need to do is simply register your school and contact details by emailing [email protected] to receive a free resource pack.