STUDENTS and staff at Upton-by-Chester High School celebrated Green Week with a grand opening of a new conservation wall.

The wall has five murals depicting five wildlife habitats from around the world and is the result of a design competition with artist-in-residence and conservationist, Rory McCann.

Each mural has holes and flaps to allow different waste packaging materials to be posted through it into bins on the other side.

Students in Years 7 and 8 compete to see who can recycle the most plastic, aluminium and steel.

Opening the wall on behalf of the school was Sheena Holland of M&S, who is in charge of the company’s Plan A initiative.

The new store in Ellesmere Port has been built and organised on carbon neutral lines and the high school’s eco-school students have toured the site.

They also hosted an earlier visit from Sheena to show her their own initiatives.

Local councillors, neighbours and governors also attended the opening, which culminated in Fairtrade refreshments in the school’s World Café.

Headteacher Jane Holland said: “‘It is important that schools foster in young people a sense of responsibility for the environment, as their futures will depend upon reducing the threat that human activity presents to the natural world.

“We hope that this project will raise awareness in practical ways and reinforce issues that are taught in the curriculum.

“As well as promoting respect for the environment, it has also built capacity for community action for a cleaner more sustainable environment locally.

“ We are very grateful to M&S and to all our guests for their support and interest in this development.”