STAFF and pupils are blazing a trail after their school became the first in the region to fit an eco-friendly boiler.

St Osmund’s Middle School in Barnes Way, Dorchester, won a grant for £63,000 towards the £170,000 cost of the woodchip-fuelled biomass boiler.

The school has become the first school in the South West to fit the unit under the South West Bioheat Programme.

Headmaster Ron Jenkinson said: “We are pioneers as this has been the very first woodchip biomass boiler to be installed in a Dorset school.

“The logistics have been very closely followed by Salisbury Diocese and also by Dorset County Council.

“The whole project has been developed partly with an eye on what will be best for us but also with an eye on what is replicable in other places.

“As part of the logistics, we have had to look at the easiest way to bulk drop the fuel over time, which will help keep costs down overall. Some of the knowledge about how to transfer the fuel from the store to the boiler will be transferable to other projects.

“The project has become a figurehead, strengthening our status within Eco Schools, an awards scheme whereby schools compete to achieve a high ranking in terms of their sustainability.”

He added: “Now we have established the big picture, we need to focus on getting the details right.

“For us, a large part of the success of the scheme will be if we can use the biomass boiler to trigger a major impact on our children’s understanding of the importance of sustainability.”

The school was served by two boilers for 25 years but they failed in 2008 and the school had to arrange temporary heating.

It sparked a change in the school’s approach to its energy needs.

Mr Jenkinson said he was keen to embrace the potential of bio-heat.

He was attracted by the potential for long term cost savings and the reduction of carbon emissions.

But he thought it could also be good for teaching pupils about the issue.

St Osmund’s received grant funding obtained with the help of the energy team at Dorset County Council.

The South West Bioheat programme provided specialist ‘project champion’ help to prepare a successful grant application.

Dorset County Council senior energy engineer Mike Petitdemange said: “Dorset County Council had signed up to government ‘stretch targets’ to deliver an additional 800kW of renewable energy in the three years to March 2009 through supporting at least 64 new projects. With a target capacity of 300kW, St Osmund’s became a keystone of our delivery of these targets.”

He added: “It was particularly encouraging to see how the school responded.

“Schools are under so much pressure these days that you would not be surprised if they just wanted a ‘quick fix’.

“On the contrary, St Osmund’s were motivated to establish a solution that would not only deliver their energy needs but also enhance their role as a centre of learning.”