An energy efficiency retrofit project at Soham Village College has saved the school £32,148 on their energy costs and saved 176 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the last year.

The council has invested £481,700 upgrading Soham Village College with solar panels, LED lighting, replacement boilers, heating system insulation and automation of heating controls.

Before this upgrade the college consumed 2.4 million kWh of energy per annum costing more than £100,000 per year owing to old and inefficient energy systems.

Cllr Josh Schumann, chair of the commercial and investment committee said: "Cambridgeshire County Council's schools energy efficiency programme offers local schools the opportunity to reduce their energy bills, replace end of life equipment and save carbon emissions without the need to find upfront investment from already stretched school budgets.

"Our aim is to help local schools plan for the future and manage their operating costs by increasing energy efficiency. By investing money, we've already saved Soham Village College money on their energy bills and reduced CO2 emissions.

"As a council we're addressing environmental and climate change issues, and will continue to develop the programme of energy investments across Cambridgeshire.

"The savings being made at Soham Village College are substantial, and we hope this will inspire more local schools to get involved."

The project was developed by Cambridgeshire County Council in partnership with Soham Village College.

The measures were designed and installed by Bouygues Energies & Services.

Lisa Tomlinson, trust operations director for Staploe Education Trust, said: "Soham Village College is pleased to have had the opportunity of working in partnership with both Cambridgeshire County Council and Bouygues on this project that has provided significant savings as well as a considerable reduction in our impact on the environment.

"The delivery and monitoring teams from both organisations have been a great support to the school with data being provided and discussed in detail throughout the past year enabling us to fully appreciate how much of a positive step forward this project has been."