Primary school pupils learnt about recycling and energy from waste at a Colnbrook power station.

Almost 120 seven to 11-year-old students from Slough’s Colnbrook C of E Primary School, in High Street, were taken to Lakeside Energy from Waste, during October and November.

The power station, which does not use oil, coal or gas but non-recyclable rubbish, used hot water bottles to demonstrate the idea of heat transfer and all pupils blew on a miniature windmill to generate their own electricity to light up a bulb.

Pupils then put on high-visibility jackets and white hard hats to visit the control room at the power station.

They saw at first hand the huge grabs selecting the non-recyclable rubbish from the big concrete storage area at the start of the combustion process.

They could also see the burning rubbish on the computer monitors in the control room.

In the purpose designed education centre, pupils worked hard to sort out what rubbish could be recycled – and what could not be but that would provide fuel for the power station.

Teams also had the change to use a computer game where they could each play a different role in managing the power station.

Head teacher Susan Marsh said: “This was a great experience for all our pupils and staff. The power station and recycling projects made us think differently about how we manage our limited resources – and how we can all play a very real part in reducing our personal impact on both our local and global environments.

“The Lakeside Education Team delivered a practical programme in a professional yet humorous way – and we know all our pupils will remember what they learned at the Lakeside power plant.”