CHILDREN and staff at St Dubricius First School in Porlock are a step closer to earning a prestigious award for their environmental activities.

The school has earned Eco Schools Silver Status as part of a Government-led initiative to make every school sustainable by 2020.

The team, led by deputy head teacher Alison Oakley, is now working towards the top Green Flag award.

To kick off the next stage of the programme, Somerset Waste Partnership’s education officer Neil Gemmel held a Talking Rubbish workshop to introduce younger children to the 3-Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

They also held a Rubbish Relay game and produced an Eco-DVD to encourage people to think more carefully about how they treat the environment.